White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and CNN’s Chris Cuomo sparred Monday morning, accusing one another of attempting to go “viral” while arguing over James Comey’s influence in the 2016 presidential election.
“I saw it last night and thought, ‘This guy swung an election? I don’t think so,’” Conway said in reference to former FBI director James Comey reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server when she was secretary of state.
[Kellyanne Conway pushes back: I didn’t say James Comey swung the election]
Cuomo defended the idea that Comey reopening the investigation did hurt Clinton’s chances of becoming president.
“Don’t just throw out these sound bites to go viral, without letting me finish a sentence” Conway accused Cuomo as he spoke over her.
“You’re the one who goes viral,” Cuomo spat back.
As Conway claimed Clinton would have lost the election either way, Cuomo rejected that, and insisted that Comey hurt Clinton and “helped Trump because he refused to disclose the probe on him.”
“You want this to be about something other than what the whole day is about here,” Conway said. “Which is whether or not the president has complied with an investigation that your network and others have alleged would lead to evidence of collusion with Russia.”
“We’ve never said anything like that, Kellyanne,” Cuomo cut in. “Why do you try and poison people’s minds like that, Kellyanne? That’s not helpful. We need common ground, not division. Don’t poison people.”
“No kidding, so let’s be honest,” she replied. “How much air time did you give to Russian collusion last year?”
“I hope it’s a lot, I hope it’s a real lot,” Cuomo said. “Because it really matters.”
James Comey’s first televised interview since being fired as FBI director aired Sunday night on ABC, Comey discussed his upcoming book, “A Higher Loyalty.”
