Screenshot/Fox News
Sen. Martha McSally on Fox News
- GOP Sen. Martha McSally on Thursday called a CNN reporter a "liberal hack" when asked whether she'd support allowing new evidence into President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
- Fox News host Laura Ingraham invited McSally on her primetime show on Thursday, where the two laughed about the incident.
- But Ingraham wasn't happy that McSally refused to answer the same question.
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Fox News opinion host Laura Ingraham was thrilled to see GOP Sen. Martha McSally publicly slam a CNN reporter on Thursday. McSally repeatedly called CNN's Manu Raju a "liberal hack" as her staffer filmed the exchange.
President Donald Trump's campaign was also happy to promote the incident, praising the Arizona lawmaker for attacking the "mainstream media."
"THREE CHEERS for Senator @MarthaMcSally!!! THIS is how you handle FAKE NEWS @CNN," the campaign tweeted.
McSally's campaign fundraised off the episode, and her team apparently registered the internet domain name "LiberalHack.com" within an hour of the incident.
But Ingraham wasn't as enthusasitic when McSally refused to answer the same question Raju asked when Ingraham posed it again on Thursday night. The question - does McSally want additional evidence and witnesses to be included in the Senate impeachment trial? - was "pretty easy," the Fox host said.
"You can call me a conservative hack, but do you want witnesses, yes or no? Why aren't you telling us?" Ingraham pressed.
McSally said the public would have to wait and see what she does. "I'm not going to tell everyone what my votes are going to be," she said.
"Pretty easy question, don't you think, senator?" Ingraham interjected.
McSally is facing a competitive challenge this year from Democratic candidate and former astronaut Mark Kelly, which puts her in a politically vulnerable position when it comes to an impending vote on whether to call witnesses to testify during Trump's impeachment trial. If she votes no, she might alienate moderate constituents. But if she votes yes, she could lose the GOP base.
The senator eventually allowed that she wants "parity," if witnesses are called.
"If we go down that path, then whoever they're asking for, then President Trump's lawyers and the defense get to also bring up whoever they want," she said.
I'm a fighter pilot, I call it like it is and that's what I did today. pic.twitter.com/2PHc1fo2xo
- Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) January 17, 2020INGRAHAM: Do you want witnesses, yes or no? Why aren't you telling us?
…
MCSALLY: We're going to get to that. I mean, I'm not going to tell everybody what all my votes are going to be.
INGRAHAM: Kind of an easy question, don't you think senator? pic.twitter.com/vCK7419P8H
- JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) January 17, 2020