'You sound ridiculous!' GOP analyst blasted for pushing Trump's 'Russia-coded' directive
The panel on CNN's "NewsNight with Abby Phillip" erupted after a GOP analyst claimed President Donald Trump's latest directive to the Smithsonian Museum is appropriate.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent a letter to the Smithsonian ordering it to turn over records related to its operations, budget, and any current exhibits it has on display. Eight of the Smithsonian's 21 museums were impacted by the directive, including the Museum of American History, the Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Museum of the American Indian.
"This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions," the letter reads in part.
GOP analyst Arthur Aidala defended the move by arguing that Trump was choosing to highlight the more positive aspects of American history.
"Every country has a horrible part of its history," Aidala said. "I thxink what the president is looking at, and I don't know this personally, is what are we going to highlight?"
Conservative analyst S.E. Cupp vehemently disagreed with Aidala's claims.
"This is very Russia-coded," Cupp said.
"One of the first things Russia did after it invaded Ukraine, illegally, was to have the Ministry of Culture review all the museums to make sure they were explicitly pro-Russian exceptionalism," Cupp added.
"This stuff happens all the time in totalitarian and authoritarian countries," she continued.
Aidala then asked if Cupp would approve of tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus.
"Why can't you just say that you're against politicians changing history?" Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) interjected. "You're going through all these hoops talking about highlighting things. You sound ridiculous!"