NBC's Garrett Haake was at a loss for words on Wednesday morning while reporting on comments made by Attorney General Pam Bondi during an impromptu question-and-answer session with reporters.
Speaking with host Ana Cabrera, Haake reported on Bondi being asked about the use of the National Guard in Los Angeles as opposed to never invoking the Insurrection Act when the Capitol was under siege on Jan. 6.
"The attorney general took a couple of questions from reporters here on the White House lawn, including about the Insurrection Act and when or if it might be invoked and I tried to press her about this idea of a double standard for all the administration's talk about protecting law enforcement in Los Angeles and beyond during these protests," he told the host, "How do they square that with the president's actions on day one of his administration, pardoning people who assaulted law enforcement officers here in Washington, D.C. at the Capitol? Listen to her answer!"
In the clip, Bondi is asked, "You've been criticized for having a double standard with the president pardoning all these people who attacked police officers on January 6th in his first day in office. How do you answer that criticism?"
"Well, this is very different," the Trump appointee began before claiming, "These are people out there hurting people in California right now. This is ongoing, no longer. We're going to protect them, we're going to do everything we can to prosecute violent criminals in California."
"California is burning," she insisted. "These people are waving Mexican flags, yet they don't want anyone to go back to Mexico. They're burning American flags. This is the United States of America, and we're going to protect Americans. We're going to protect all citizens out there."
Cutting back to Haake, he dryly added: "Ana, I'll leave it to our viewers to parse that answer. The best I can tell is the only real difference is this situation appears to be happening now."
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