'If I could finish?' Republican gets testy after calling demonstrators anti-semites on CNN
A Republican lawmaker got into a fiery exchange with a CNN anchor, saying "if I could finish" after refusing to answer multiple questions about the government shutdown Monday.
CNN's Pamela Brown interviewed Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), asking her about the ongoing shutdown now in its 20th day and the public response to the Trump administration. Brown specifically pointed to the nearly seven million people attending "No Kings" protests across the U.S. on Saturday, asking McClain if those attendees really "hate America," as McClain and other Republican lawmakers have claimed.
"Well, look at what they're standing for. They're standing for communism. They're standing for anti-semitism. Just take a look at the rallies," McClain said.
McClain also targeted Democrats in her response.
"Republicans are the party of law and order. We don't believe in anti-semitism. Take a look at the speakers that they have at the rally. Take a look at what they're fighting for," she said. "They're fighting to defund the police, defund ICE. They're fighting not for law and order, but they're fighting for the criminals... We stand on the core principles of this great nation, which is capitalism, law and order. And the Democrats clearly don't stand for that."
Brown then asked about how Americans perceive what's happening, asking this:
"And as the shutdown drags on, Republicans and the White House say that they're laying off thousands of federal workers, and that's necessary because of the impact that the shutdown is having on federal spending. But at the same time, President Trump announced a $20 billion bailout to Argentina last week during the shutdown. That's money, of course, from U.S. taxpayers for a foreign country. So what do you say to Americans who are looking at that and saying, wait, how does that square?"
That's when McClain urged people to call their Democratic senators, blaming them and saying "tell them to stop being obstructionists and vote yes to open the government. Number one."
As Brown tried to bring her back to the question, she said, "If I could finish?"
She went on, "Number two is, as you see, the president is making deals around the world. And that's not exactly a bailout. It's more of a loan. So it's not just free money that we're giving away, which is very different than administrations in the past," McClain said, seemingly alluding to a criticism of the Biden administration.
"So if you truly are concerned about this, what I say is let's get the government open. And I implore you to call your Democratic senators and tell them, don't be held hostage by the crazy, Marxist wing of your Democratic party. Let's get back to governing. How democracy should actually work. And that's why Republicans, both in the House and the Senate, are voting yes to open the government. And Democrats are standing in the way."