GOP strategist torches his party over Jack Smith hearing: 'What in the hell?'

Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton ripped his own party for bringing former special counsel Jack Smith to Capitol Hill weeks before the midterms.

Singleton, appearing on CNN alongside Democratic strategist Paul Begala, didn't mince words when host Kaitlan Collins asked what went through his mind as he watched the already infamous moment from the hearing where Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) botched a perjury trap.

"You know, I don't care about this, and I'll tell you why," Singleton said.

He pointed to races in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Maine, Ohio and North Carolina that he described as toss-ups or slightly leaning toward Democrats, warning that Republicans face an expensive fight to hold on.

"We're going to have to spend a lot of money to get these people across the finish line," Singleton said. "A lot of our base working-class people, men of color, are struggling. They're barely getting by."

Singleton said voters are worried about how their children and grandchildren will pay for college and buy homes, and that those are the issues Republicans should be talking about.

"I could care less about Jack Smith in this particular moment, when we're weeks away from a midterm," he said, adding that his party should be drawing a contrast with Democrats and offering policy solutions.

Collins pressed him on whether Republicans should have invited Smith, who led the federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, to testify at all.

"For what?" Singleton replied. "I mean, what in the hell are we getting out of this? I'm just being very honest about this."

Turning to Begala, Singleton said the veteran Democratic strategist would understand what a party's priorities need to be so close to an election.

"Let's focus on what's going to help us win the election," Singleton said. "We got to turn out our base where there's clearly an enthusiasm gap with the other side compared to our people. We're losing some independents. We need to try to get some of those folks back."