Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) faced backlash after he downplayed President Donald Trump's efforts to silence late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
During a Wednesday interview on CNBC, host Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Jordan about comments Trump made after Kimmel returned from his suspension following remarks about Charlie Kirk's murderer.
"You tell me whether you think this sounds like coercion or not," Sorkin told Jordan, quoting Trump: "I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million. This one sounds even more lucrative."
"I don't think you can say this is the pressure from the government because ABC put him back on," Jordan replied.
"But that does sound like pressure from the government, right?" Sorkin pressed. "But there's pressure, it may not be successful pressure, but it's pressure from the government?"
"I guess you can say maybe some, but I don't think that's what drove this," Jordan offered.
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh responded by calling Jordan's remarks "so damn pathetic."
"I served in Congress with Jim Jordan," he wrote on X. "I knew him well. If Barack Obama as president had said what Trump said here, Jordan would be screaming and immediately calling for congressional hearings."