Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) defended her decision to refuse to answer a question from CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju and instead call him a "liberal hack" on Thursday.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked McSally if she regrets calling Raju a "liberal hack."
"No, Laura, I do not. I said it again actually as I went in. 'You're a liberal hack, buddy.' You know, these CNN reporters, many of them around the Capitol, they are so biased," McSally said. "They are so in cahoots with the Democrats, they so can’t stand the president, and they run around trying to chase Republicans and asked trapping questions. I’m a fighter pilot, you know, I call it like it is. That's what we see out of the mainstream media, and especially CNN every single day. So obviously, I’m going to tell the truth, and I did it today, and it’s laughable how they responded."
"And then the Democrat senators walked by, and they say, 'Hi, how are you today?' They chase after the Republicans. It’s ridiculous. Are they're cheerleading the Democrats, they hate the president," she added. "I speak the truth, and I will continue to do it. I’ve done it my whole life."
Raju described the exchange as McSally lashing out at him.
A) you are.
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) January 16, 2020
B) here’s the video. https://t.co/zVgk9pBhdf pic.twitter.com/cfFdotLjFK
Many of CNN's reporters and hosts criticized McSally for the remark and the network released an official statement.
"It is 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," CNN said.