Trump aide's CNN interview devolves into standoff as she tries to wrest control from host
A Trump administration spokeswoman tried to take over her own interview with CNN's Pamela Brown in a combative defense of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce appeared Wednesday morning on CNN's "Situation Room," where she defended Rubio's cuts to the diplomatic corps and his withdrawal from Ukraine peace talks in London. The former Fox News contributor refused to allow Brown to ask follow-up questions without interruption.
"Just to follow up on that, though, over 340 students, faculty and researchers have had their visas revoked this year," Brown said, as Bruce sighed "hmmm."
"Of course, the State Department under the law has wide latitude to make moves on that point," Brown continued. "But are you concerned that that could have a chilling effect and dissuade the best and the brightest talent overseas from coming to the U.S.?"
Bruce argued that Biden-era immigration policies dissuaded foreign researchers from studying in the U.S. because they feared crime, and she defended President Donald Trump's mass deportations.
"Now, while I will not talk about visas, visa information, of course, is also confidential.," Bruce said. "We're not going to, we don't talk about the numbers of those or confirm or any of the numbers that you've stated, but I think that what Americans are seeing and what Americans support is the nature of the safety returning to the streets of this country, the fact that our visas have very specific dynamics, as the secretary has said. If you're going to be saying things that are certainly impacting our foreign policy, if you're going to commit crimes, if you're going to be doing things that disturb a campus, or if you're a gang member, whatever those dynamics are, it's not just leeway."
"There are laws and it's about applying for a visa, being honest when you apply for that visa, and if you're not honest and if you break the rules of that visa or do other dynamics that certainly DHS and DOJ, who are in charge of that framework, deem to be a problem, that visa is going to be revoked, and then you will have to go back home, so, but on the issue of specifics, certainly that's not appropriate to discuss, but the American people want there to be some kind of order, and we are applying an order that has always existed about the nature of what you say to get into this country and, and that it is not a birthright and that we will take seriously. If you do things that require your removal from this country."
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Brown tried to offer a fact check — but Bruce was ready to end the interview and offered several terse "thank yous" as if she had the authority to pull the plug and was signaling the questioning was over.
"All right, and just to note, some of them have not been charged, but of course, as I pointed out," Brown said, clearly thrown off by her guest's interruptions, "the State Department, not all of them, not all of them have been charged."
"Thank you very much, Tammy Bruce," Brown added, finally giving up. "I really appreciate you coming to speak about the legal dynamics."
"We're not going to speak about the legal dynamics, but thank you," Bruce interrupted again. "Thank you."
"That's okay," Brown interjected.
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