Arizona lawmaker stuns CNN host with claim nuke could be smuggled across border in ‘bale of marijuana’

In a contentious interview with an Arizona congressman, CNN host Brianna Keilar continually slapped down the lawmaker who kept insisting former President Barack Obama did nothing about undocumented immigrants during his eight years in office.

Along the way he warned of nukes being smuggled into the U.S. in bales of weed.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) addressed the stepped up efforts by the Trump administration to round-up and deport undocumented immigrants, saying the media was trying to foment "panic" over it.

"Well, part of the panic here is the media overstating and confusing some of the things that are actually happening here," Franks remarked. "If you look at what the Trump administration's actual policies are, I don't think the media is accurately portraying what the real situation is."

“The reality, Brianna, is that we have to measure all of the costs, ancillary and otherwise, and make the best decision that we can. But I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border,” Franks said. “We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, ‘Well, we'll simply hide it in a bale of marijuana.’”

The Arizona lawmaker then asserted that Trump was finally doing what former President Barack Obama refused to do.

"I'm saying the federal law has been in place for a long time. It's how it was enforced. I will make no argument with you that there is a different president, there's a different administration in place, and yes, the law is being more clearly enforced in the present than it was before," Franks stated. "My contention is before, when Barack Obama just kind of stood by and let whatever would happen happen, that it endangered this country."

That was when host Keilar pushed back.

"He [Obama] deported more people than George W. Bush," Keilar shot back. "He deported more people under his administration than George W. Bush did."

"I don't know what all the numbers are," Franks parried.

'I'm telling you the numbers. He had 3 million something, and George W. Bush had 2 million something," Keilar pressed.

"So now tell me that Barack Obama was more committed to border enforcement than Donald Trump," Franks deflected.

"You tell me what you make of those numbers,' the CNN host fired back. "You said he stood by, you said he stood by. I'm just telling you the numbers on deportations.

"I'm suggesting to you that Barack Obama border security was something that, in my judgement, was dangerous to this country," Franks replied. "And I continue to stand by that."

Watch the video below via CNN: