CNN host to RNC official: Catering to folks 'playing in the Fox News sandbox' won't win you the White House

CNN's Michael Smerconish spent Saturday morning attempting to convince one of the Republican National Committee's chief strategists that his party stands no chance of reaching voters outside of their locked-in "Fox-only constituency" if they don't stop complaining about the media and lying.

Smerconish's comments came in the wake of the meltdown by GOP front runner Ben Carson who spent Friday evening attacking the media for pointing out a multitude of discrepancies in his autobiographies, including stabbing either a family member or a friend, and being admitted to West Point.

"This type of 'take on the media' plays very well with the base," Smerconish explained to the RNC's Sean Spicer. "It could help you win the Iowa caucus, but it bodes poorly trying to win over independents in a general election. So that, when Ben Carson won't answer the questions put to him by CNN and says 'this is garbage' or 'a pack of lies,' he's only delaying the inevitable."

Spicer responded that mainstream media has failed to call out former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over what he called lies" over Benghazi and her emails.

Smerconish stopped him right there, pointing out that Democratic debate moderator and CNN host Anderson Cooper pressed Clinton over polls where voters described her as "untrustworthy."

“A Fox-only constituency cannot get your man or woman elected," admonished Smerconish, adding later that it was unlikely that any GOP candidate would prove successful in the general election by "playing only in the Fox sandbox during the nomination process.”

Watch the video below from YouTube: