'I'm not asking about BLM!' Fed-up CNN's Wolf Blitzer presses evasive Republican
A Republican congressman’s refusal to directly reveal whether he supports President Donald Trump’s blanket pardons of Jan. 6 attackers – including some of the most violent offenders – didn’t sit well with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night.
During a segment on his show “The Situation Room,” Blitzer delivered a forceful pushback against Rep. John James (R-MI), who tried sidestepping the longtime anchor’s line of questioning more than once, resulting in a tense confrontation between the two.
“Was President Trump right to pardon these people?” Blitzer asked.
“We absolutely must support law enforcement, and we absolutely must move our nation forward,” James said after offering a detached response about the president being “focused squarely on the future.” The Michigan congressman added: “And I wasn't there then, but the law enforcement officers, the Capitol police, whom I’ve met here, have been a part of keeping my family and my friends safe in the Capitol each and every single day, and we applaud their efforts.”
But Blitzer, clearly dissatisfied by the answer, continued pressing him.
“So what kind of message, congressman, do these pardons and commutations send to law enforcement? You support law enforcement, yet these people who attacked law enforcement on January 6 are now going to be free," Blitzer asked.
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James next went down the familiar GOP comparison to Black Lives Matter protests – which Blitzer again didn’t allow past him.
“Let me just press you, congressman,” Blitzer said. “Was President Trump right in commuting the sentences of these rioters who wound up with bats and with sticks and beat police officers, some of whom were very seriously injured, and a few actually died.”
“Wolf, were the BLM rioters right when they went across the country and burned…” James said.
That’s when the interview took a turn as Blitzer cut James off mid-sentence to grill him on his evasive answers.
“I’m asking you about what happened on January 6th,” Blitzer said. "I’m not asking about Black Lives Matter. I’m asking about January 6th congressman.”
James, while still not answering Blitzer’s question directly, told the CNN anchor that “part of your problem” and “the reason that people feel so disconnected from pundits and politicians is because you don't understand where people are coming from.”
He concluded that Trump is “doing his best to move the country forward, unlike what President [Joe] Biden did.”
Watch the clip below or at this link: