Fox’s longest-running anchor opened up about his engagement, his decades-long Trump friendship, and how he sees the network he helped build as it turns 30.

Sean Hannity has spent three decades behind a desk at Fox News. This week, the 64-year-old anchor sat for a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY and spoke about his fiancée and Fox News colleague Ainsley Earhardt, his long personal history with Donald Trump, and what the future might hold for his prime-time show.

The timing is notable. Fox News is marking its 30th anniversary, Hannity remains the longest-running cable news host in television history, and President Trump has publicly commented on the couple’s relationship. The Hill reported that Trump discussed Hannity and Earhardt during a live “Fox & Friends” interview, offering warm words for two of the network’s longest-serving hosts.

Wedding rumors, shut down fast

Hannity used the interview to knock down a trio of rumors in one sweep. He and Earhardt are not married yet, he said, and despite chatter to the contrary, the couple has no plans to tie the knot at the White House or at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida.

The two do have a wedding date, but Hannity isn’t sharing it. “Does anyone really care?” he asked, before joking that maybe he’d rent out Madison Square Garden “like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.” He insists he isn’t a celebrity, though he concedes that he and his fiancée are public figures by definition, and that his proximity to the president only fuels the curiosity.

Trump, for his part, has leaned into the storyline. During a live interview on “Fox & Friends” earlier this year, the president volunteered a shoutout to the couple, suggesting that with Washington safer after his crime crackdown, Hannity might take “a very lovely young lady that he knows very, very well” out to dinner in the capital. “That’s the greatest relationship. Those are two great people,” Trump said, adding that he didn’t want to see them “get mugged” when they go out.

Two relationships with Trump

The most revealing portion of the interview may be how Hannity describes his dynamic with the 47th president. “I have two relationships with him,” Hannity said, noting the personal friendship stretches back to New York, long before Trump ever considered politics.

According to Hannity in the USA TODAY interview, the personal tie does not interfere with his professional one when it’s time for an interview. He said his approach in interviews is simply to let Trump talk at length, an approach he acknowledged draws criticism.

The closeness is hard to separate from the news cycle. Hannity was granted the first exclusive interview Trump gave after his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, an arrangement that reignited longstanding debate about how friendly interviewers should be with the people they cover.

Why the friendship debate won’t go away

Supporters of Hannity’s style argue it gives audiences unfiltered access to a president who often avoids hostile press. Hannity’s own framing — that he separates the personal from the professional — is likely to remain a flashpoint for viewers and media watchers weighing how friendly interviewers should be with the people they cover.

The last anchor standing at Fox News

Hannity’s standing at the network is singular. He is the only solo anchor who has been with Fox News Channel from its launch to the present day, and the interview also touched on Roger Ailes, the founding executive whose firing Hannity addressed.

His weeknight show “Hannity” still draws millions of viewers, but it no longer beams from Fox’s midtown Manhattan headquarters. The host broadcasts primarily from Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club is also located.

Expanding beyond the 9 p.m. desk

Hannity is also expanding beyond his TV desk. Earlier this year, Fox News Media announced “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” a twice-a-week podcast featuring long-form conversations across culture, business, sports and politics, with fresh material that could occasionally surface on his TV show. The Los Angeles Times reported that cable news networks are pushing into podcasting as more consumers move away from pay TV.

He told the Los Angeles Times he loves the format’s freedom, letting conversations run “as long as they’re compelling.” He becomes the biggest name in Fox’s new media division, which already carries podcasts from Will Cain, Tyrus and contributors like the Ruthless crew. Fox Corporation’s 2025 acquisition of Red Seat Ventures signals how seriously the company is chasing audiences that no longer subscribe to pay TV, a shift every cable network is racing to manage.

What remains unanswered

For all the candor, key questions stay open. Hannity did not spell out how many years he intends to keep anchoring, only that he reflected on his career and the network’s future in the conversation. The wedding date remains private. And whether his dual identity, Trump’s friend and Trump’s interviewer, can hold up through another contentious presidency, is a question he answers with confidence but critics will keep testing.

What’s clear is that Hannity is thinking about legacy. Thirty years in, with a fiancée at the same network, a president in his corner, and a podcast extending his reach, he is positioning himself less as a nightly fixture and more as a durable media brand, one that may outlast the cable era that made him.