Conservatives on social media were not amused after old footage circulated Tuesday showing MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt asking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie whether Americans could trust that a Christie White House wouldn’t face indictment.
Her question, which was asked in May, was in reference to Christie’s ongoing woes over lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, a scandal for which he was absolved of any wrongdoing in March.
As the newly announced 2016 Republican presidential candidate addressed some of these issues during a press briefing following his campaign launch Tuesday morning, a smattering of social media users objected to Hunt’s question from last month, with a few suggesting that she purposely targets conservative politicians.
However, Hunt, whose resume includes covering the 2012 presidential election for the Associated Press, asks these types of questions of candidates on the both sides of the aisle.
“Hunt has a knack for knowing when and how to ask devastatingly simple questions,” National Journal wrote in February, noting that her penchant for asking trip-up questions is apparently a bipartisan issue.
Here are six times Hunt seemingly caught Democratic and Republican politicians off guard.
6. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry
In December 2014, Hunt asked Perry if he had the smarts to be president of the United States.
“And are you smart enough to be president of the United States?” she asked.
“I think the standpoint of life’s experiences. Running for the presidency is not an IQ test. It is a test of an individual’s resolve,” the former governor answered. “It’s a test of an individual’s philosophy. It is a test of an individual’s life’s experiences. And I think Americans are really ready for a leader that will give them a great hope about the future.”
5. Sen. Marco Rubio
Hunt in April approached the Florida senator on the question of same-sex marriage and the evolution of voter opinion on the issue.
“Seventy-four percent of young Americans show in the NBC poll that they back same-sex marriage. Are you out of step with younger generations on that issue?” she asked.
“No — well, ultimately the decision on how we define marriage has always belonged to the states. And if in fact, as the polls indicate, a growing number of Americans believe that sex — marriage between two individuals of the same sex should be — legal, then they can petition their state legislatures and change their state laws,” he said.
“And in fact, I suspect you’ll see that happen. It’s already begun to happen. So at the end of the day, I always believed marriage is regulated by states. I’ve never supported a federal constitutional amendment on — on marriage,” he added.
Elsewhere, in a separate interview, Hunt questioned Rubio about a New York Times report that showed he had accrued four whole traffic citations since 1993.
“I have to ask you, there was a New York Times report about your collection of speeding tickets. Do you have a lead foot?” she asked.
A jovial Rubio responded, “They weren’t speeding tickets alone. You know, I’ll let people read into it what they want. It is what it is.”
4. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
In April, Hunt also approached Scott Walker with questions about gay rights and same-sex marriage.
“Would you attend a gay wedding?” she asked.
Walker appeared unable to answer the question outright.
“That’s certainly a personal issue. For a family member, Tonette and I and our family have already had a family member who’s had a reception. I haven’t been at a wedding,” Walker said. “That’s true even though my position on marriage is still that it’s defined between a man and a woman, and I support the constitution of the state. But for someone I love, we’ve been at a reception.”
3. Former Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.
At the height of the 2014 cycle, when President Obama’s approval rating was in a tailspin, Hunt posed the North Carolina lawmaker a very simply question: “Do you think that President Obama is a strong leader?”
Hagan hedged her answer, impressing no one.
“You know, President Obama has a lot on his plate. And it seems like whether it’s the oil spill that took place earlier, a number of years ago in the gulf, to this Ebola crisis now, to [the Islamic State] gaining strength, I mean, you look at all the combinations of things like that —” Hagan started.
Obama’s approval numbers at the time were suffering badly from nationwide fears over Ebola.
“Do you think he has acted as a strong leader in those crises?” Hunt asked again.
“I think there’s definitely, like with Ebola, we’ve definitely been late to the table in making decisions about that, being sure that [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has, uh, understands and gets messages out to hospitals,” Hagan said.
As the election drew nearer, vulnerable Democrats sought to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular president, and Hunt wasn’t helping them. “So you don’t think he showed strong leadership?” the MSNBC reporter asked.
“Certainly there are issues that I certainly think, uh, no,” the senator answered.
Hagan went on to lose her re-election bid to then-Republican state House Speaker Thom Thillis.
2. Former Sen. Mark Pryor
The former Democratic senator from Arkansas wasn’t spared during the midterm elections as he, too, faced questions from Hunt regarding Obama and Ebola.
“Do you think that the Obama administration has done an appropriate job handling the Ebola crisis?” she asked.
“Umm … I would say that it’s hard to know, uh, because, uh, I haven’t heard the latest briefing on that to know all the details,” the senator said.
“I mean, I read the paper and all, but my impression is that we have people over there, both from [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and other medical-type people and even some engineers to try to build, uh, you know, medical facilities,” he added. “That’s what they need over there. They need the medical infrastructure,” he added.
Like other vulnerable Democratic candidates, Pryor took pains in 2014 to distance himself from the president.
“Have we’ve been aggressive enough in helping do that?”
“Umm … Again, I’d have to see the latest numbers,” he responded, flubbing his answer once again.
Pryor went on to lose his re-election bid to then-Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
1. Failed Senate Candidate Michelle Nunn
In 2014, the Affordable Care Act was also a hot button issue, with many vulnerable lawmakers who had previously voiced full-throated support for the legislation going silent suddenly on the issue.
Unfortunately for Senate candidate Michelle Nunn, Hunt wanted to know where the Georgia Democrat stood on the issue.
“Would you have voted for the Affordable Care Act?” Hunt asked Nunn.
“At the time that the Affordable Health Care Act was passed, I was working for Points of Light. I wish we’d had more people who would have tried to architect a bipartisan option,” the Democratic candidate answered.
“So yes or no?” the MSNBC reporter persisted.
“So I think it’s impossible to look back retrospectively and say what would you have done if you were there,” Nunn answered, failing to respond to the heart of the question.
Nunn went on to lose to her opponent, Republican businessman David Perdue.
Hunt was not able to respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment at time of publication.
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This post has been updated to clarify that Hunt asked Christie the indictment question in May.
