'Don't lecture me!' Former Trump Homeland Security head snaps at CNN anchor

Former acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli got defensive with CNN anchor Brianna Keilar, asking her “not to lecture him” on the differences between President Donald Trump deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles over the weekend and when National Guard troops were called to the city in back in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush.

“There are four reasons under the Insurrection Act that the president can deploy military,” Cuccinelli said. “Under that act, insurrection is only one of the four. That's the name of the act. But that's only one of the four bases.”

He later added, “Here we're talking about violence in the streets of Los Angeles. [Trump] absolutely has the authority to do it, just as President George Bush did in 1992.”

“This would be significantly different than 1992,” Keilar said. “But I do want to ask you, because sending in federal troops here against the governor and the mayor's wishes, as you're well aware, George H.W. Bush, Governor Pete Wilson wanted that to happen.”

The anchor added, “So [Trump] wasn't doing the exact same thing. You're well aware of that. How does the Trump administration then mitigate the risk that what it's doing could actually inflame the situation?”

“Of course, there are differences between every circumstance, please don't lecture me on that,” Cuccinelli snapped before answering the question.

“If they want to mitigate the circumstances of the coaxing, as much cooperation as you can get is obviously step one,” Cuccinelli said. “That's not going to happen with the mayor and the governor. They've made that very clear. The governor is going to file a useless lawsuit against the president. This is well-litigated ground. The president is going to win that lawsuit.”

He later went on to say, “We can go back and forth all day on those pieces, but the federal government is charged with enforcing federal law. So the president is really doing his job, and the fact that it continues to escalate in Los Angeles to a degree it hasn't anywhere else yet, is unfortunate. I don't think anybody wanted this to happen, including the president.”

“I do want to ask you about something the mayor said,” Keilar said, “but just to be clear, Ken, because I wouldn't want you to misunderstand me. I'm not lecturing you, but we do have a lot of viewers who may not understand the specific circumstances under which these guard members have been called up.”

She firmly added, “So we do just need to be clear. You brought it up twice, making it seem very similar, and I just want them to understand there is a distinct difference here.”

The remarks came as Cuccinelli was speaking on the immigration protest happening in Los Angeles. Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops to quell the protests in the city.

Before the interview, Trump said at an impromptu press conference that he would arrest California Gov Gavin Newsom if he were Border Czar Tom Homan.

Watch the full interaction here or below:

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