CNN anchor Kasie Hunt lost her patience on live TV, as Marco Rubio’s spokeswoman Tammy Bruce dodged almost all of the journalist’s questions.
Hunt grew increasingly irate with State Department spokesperson Bruce during a live segment on Monday’s edition of The Arena.
They butted heads over Bruce’s tight-lipped approach to Rubio’s work in making President Donald Trump‘s deportation dreams become a reality. Hunt quizzed Bruce for updates on immigrants being deported to El Salvador, and whether the secretary of state is still working on the case of the wrongly deported Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Bruce first deflected on the questions, and then told Hunt she is not the “gossiper for the State Department.” That followed repeated attempts by the CNN anchor to get a straight answer from the former Fox News contributor.
The bizarre to and fro started with a question colored by recent comments from Trump that appear to suggest he isn’t sure whether upholding the Constitution is part of his job remit.
“I don’t know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said,” he said in a Meet the Press interview that aired on NBC at the weekend.
“Does the secretary believe that immigrants who are deported to these other countries are entitled to due process under the Constitution?” Hunt asked Bruce on Monday, referencing the fifth and fourteenth amendments.
“Well, there’s there’s always, of course, due process,” Bruce claimed. “These are individuals who have either violated our laws or their visas have been removed.”
“Well, the president seemed to question that over the weekend,” Hunt shot back before asking if Rubio had spoken to Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele. He has struck a deal with the Trump administration under which the U.S. will fork out up to $6 million to send foreign criminals to prison in El Salvador.
“Well, I’m not going to speak to which world leaders the secretary speaks to. He speaks to multiple world leaders,” Bruce said, effectively declining to answer.
Hunt tried a different question. “Is he still working on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia?” she asked.
Garcia is currently incarcerated at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, even though the Trump administration admitted it should not have sent him there. The government is dragging its heels on a federal order, upheld by the Supreme Court, to bring him home.
“I’m not going to speak to his…” Bruce began, before Hunt impatiently repeated the question.
Attempting to deflect again, Bruce said: “I’m not going to speak to his work. I’m not gonna—I’m not gonna speak to the nature of the work that he does every day in its details. Clearly, this has been an issue…”
Hunt at this point lost her cool. “But you’re the spokeswoman for the State Department! I mean, with all due respect, like…” she barked.
Bruce shot back: “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that—just just a minute. That doesn’t mean I’m the gossiper for the State Department.”
“I’m not asking you to gossip. I’m asking you for…” Hunt answered, with Bruce now interrupting. “I’m telling you the nature of what it is that I can speak to. And it does not include the day-to-day operations or choices the secretary of state makes,” she said.
Before the segment ended, Bruce added unequivocally: “That’s not gonna happen. We clearly know this is at the forefront for the State Department and the forefront for the secretary of state. But you’re not going to get the nature of the details of negotiations, diplomacy, or the decisions the secretary makes during his day.”
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