'Don't do that to our viewers': CNN anchor stomps down 'rigged election' talk from Trump surrogate

On Monday night, CNN's Brian Stelter pleaded with Donald Trump's spokesman Jeffrey Lord to back off the campaign's repeated allegations that the November elections will be rigged in favor of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Media Matters posted video in which reporter Don Lemon and Stelter took Lord to task for seeming amused by video of Trump saying the election results can't be trusted.

Lemon asked Lord why he finds it funny that Stetler is appalled by the tactic of sowing distrust in the electoral process.

"Well, I'm not laughing at Brian," Lord said, "but with all due respect to my two friends here, to you and to Brian, I would flip this question around? Why aren't we investigating elections that have been stolen?"

He pointed to the election of Lyndon Johnson as an example, to which Lemon bemusedly replied, "You want us to investigate 1948?"

"It is so conspiratorial," said Stelter. "Are you not a little bit scared, Jeffrey, are you not a little bit nervous about the day after the election whether Trump or Clinton wins? Are you worried that Trump is going to try to delegitimize the results?"

"Look, I am worried that an election could be stolen," Lord said. "And with all..."

Stelter interrupted, saying, "Please, please don't do that to our viewers. Please don't do that to our country at this moment in time."

"Why is everybody dismissing this out of hand?" Lord complained.

"Opening the door here, raising the questions, raising them in a conspiratorial way, it does sow distrust," Stelter said. "It sows fear."

Watch the video:

Is it dangerous for Trump to claim the election will be 'rigged'? https://t.co/u52Ea8Qc9yhttps://t.co/VMbIfTp0lU

— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) August 9, 2016