White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and CNN’s Chris Cuomo got into a heated exchange on Thursday when discussing the network’s coverage of President Trump.
At one point during the contentious 39-minute interview, which covered a range of topics including the special counsel investigation and Michael Cohen’s prison sentence, the host said if he had to accuse Conway of lying he would, while Conway outright declared Cuomo and his colleagues liars.
"They expect you to be anti-Trump, your viewers," she told Cuomo.
"No, they actually get frustrated with me because they think we're too balanced on this show," he replied. "They don't want me to have you on. They don’t want me to have anyone from the administration. Trust me."
"And you know why that is, right?" Conway asked. "They don't want you to have me on for a simple reason, they accept if not expect you and the rest of CNN to be anti-Trump all day long. And you know it. You don't have the same viewership that CNN once had. The people want it right down the middle, where the centrists and moderate and you know it," Conway said.
"The reason they get frustrated is they believe that you guys don’t answer questions and that you spin a lot, and you ignore what is obvious fact," Cuomo fired back.
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"Are you going to call me a liar? Go ahead, you’re going to call me a liar?" Conway asked.
"If I have to, I will. If I have to, I will," he said.
"Oh, really, I dare you to do it. What is it I lied about?" Conway replied.
"I’m not saying that you're lying," Cuomo said.
At another point during the interview, Conway said Cuomo lies every night.
“It’s a great example of how you lie. It’s a great example of how you lie, nightly, you and your colleagues. You have people on lying about this, that, and the other.”
“What am I lying about?" he asked. "You said I shouldn’t call you a liar, and you call me a liar many times, you see the difference in our tactics? Because I treat you with respect."
Conway then argued that Cuomo doesn’t want the president or the county to succeed.
“Oh, Kellyanne, say that again. I want to make sure the audience hears that. You believe — you want my audience to believe that I don’t want the country to succeed?” Cuomo asked.
Watch below:
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway: "President Trump said he never directed anybody to" pay hush-money payments
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) December 14, 2018
CNN's @ChrisCuomo: "The evidence shows otherwise" https://t.co/zkYQCkz6jN pic.twitter.com/zDawVJiRRV
Trump was at the illegal hush money meeting, source says
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) December 14, 2018
CNN's @ChrisCuomo: "Pecker said he was at the meeting. Cohen said he knew about it and the tape says that, why deny it?"
Kellyanne Conway: "...The President said he never directed Cohen to break the law." pic.twitter.com/q3lx73sj6B
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