Hours after Sen. Martha McSally called a CNN reporter a “liberal hack,” her campaign was using the moment to raise money.
The Arizona Republican, facing a tough reelection battle against former astronaut and US Navy capitain Mark Kell, sent out an email Thursday afternoon that linked to a donation page. Earlier that day, CNN reporter Manu Raju tried to ask McSally, 53, a question, to which she responded by refusing to comment and labeling him a “liberal hack.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not in the Senate to play politics, especially with liberal hacks who profit off of spin,” McSally, a former Air Force colonel who was the first American woman to fly in combat, said in her fundraising email. “I’m in the Senate to fight for all Arizonans, not play games with the left-wing media.”
So, @MarthaMcSally‘s “liberal hack” crack against @mkraju was basically just a set-up for raising campaign money. pic.twitter.com/qaR4KNun1Y
— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) January 16, 2020
Raju, 39, asked McSally on Thursday morning if the Senate should consider new evidence in President Trump’s impeachment trial.
“Manu, you’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you,” she shot back at the reporter.
Raju followed up, “You’re not going to comment.” McSally again rebuffed him and referred to him as a “liberal hack.”
McSally was appointed to replace former Sen. John Kyl, who retired after replacing the late Sen. John McCain. She is running again in 2020 and will face a tough challenge from astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former Democratic Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords.
CNN’s public relations team said McSally’s remark was “extremely unbecoming for a U.S. Senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job.”
