Roughly an hour after his attack on former special counsel Jack Smith collapsed during a Senate hearing Tuesday, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) found a friendlier audience on "The Charlie Kirk Show," where the host praised him for the very accusation that had just blown up in his face.
Smith was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding his investigations into President Donald Trump, and was accused by Schmitt of vindictively coordinating with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to prosecute Trump. As proof, Schmitt shared text messages that he suggested proved Smith had met with Willis at a basketball game in Atlanta, just one day after Willis admitted to having an affair with one of her lead prosecutors.
As immediately flagged by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), however, Schmitt was wrong about which basketball game Smith attended, confusing the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Despite the widely mocked blunder, the moment was championed by right-wing activist Andrew Kolvet, spokesperson for Turning Point USA and host of “The Charlie Kirk Show.”
“Jack Smith is a total dirtbag, and you caught him out on this NBA game too, by the way, in Atlanta,” Kolvet said. “It was a great moment, so good for you on that!”
Without any acknowledgement of Schmitt’s mistake, Kolvet pivoted to discuss the Protect College Sports Act, with Schmitt apparently content with moving to a new topic.
Schmitt was ruthlessly mocked by critics in the wake of his big “gotcha” moment falling apart on the Hill. CNN’s Aaron Blake called it a “big apparent misfire,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein called it a “completely humiliating moment,” and independent journalist Aaron Rupar argued that Schmitt “beclowns himself.”
