Iraq War veteran and commentator Paul Rieckhoff set a CNN panel into a frenzy Friday night when he delivered a passionate line of attack to a former Bush-era White House official who laughed off the comment before quickly admitting he was insulted.
The moment unfolded on CNN’s “NewsNight” during a heated discussion over the epic breakdown inside the Oval Office earlier in the day that pitted President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But despite Zelensky being at the receiving end of the public dressing down that unfolded after Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of not being “thankful enough” to the new MAGA administration, Pete Seat, who served in former President George W. Bush's administration, saw it differently.
“President Zelensky was the instigator in this conversation 100 percent,” Seat said while responding to comments Rieckhoff made just moments earlier.
“You are absolutely wrong, and you are perpetuating the propaganda of Russia,” Rieckhoff quickly fired back.
That’s when the two CNN commentators went nuclear on each other – and the rest of the panel exploded.
“I’m offended by that!” Seat said. “I am absolutely offended by that.”
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“I’m offended by what you say and how you present this entire situation,” said Rieckhoff, the founder and CEO of Independent Veterans of America, who added that he is “an alumni of the United States Army.”
“And millions of veterans around this country saw that today and are outraged of all backgrounds," Rieckhoff said. "Because there are people like you who are standing with Putin instead of with Americans and instead of with our allies.”
The tense back-and-forth, which triggered the evening’s three other guests to also weigh in with their own fiery remarks, prompted CNN host Abby Phillip to attempt to reign the group in as the conversation became an on-air free-for-all.
“Please stop talking, okay?” Phillip said. “Everybody is talking at the same time – that does not work – okay? We cannot hear a word you are saying. I understand there are, you know, a lot of very high emotions about this topic, but please, one at a time, okay?”
But Seat snuck in one last comment: “I’m fine with my statements,” he said.
Watch the clip below or at this link:
