‘Can I Finish?’ CNN’s Brianna Keilar Repeatedly Interjects During Tense Afghanistan Segment With Biden Comms Chief

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar repeatedly interrupted White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield’s answers during an interview on the situation in Afghanistan.

Keilar interviewed Bedingfield on Friday morning’s edition of New Day, during which Ms. Bedingfield updated viewers on the progress of the evacuation, and tried to convey the “laser focus” of President Joe Biden and his team on getting Americans and Afghan allies out of the country.

Keilar told Bedingfield that she also wanted “to be laser-focused,” and asked “So where are the issues then? What issues are you addressing to get to that number?”

Bedingfield said that they’re working to move planes and people more quickly, and reiterated that “Obviously, this is the president’s laser focus right now.”

Keilar noted that “the U.S. government is talking to the Taliban,” and asked, “What strides have been made there in terms of getting people safely to the airport?”

Bedingfield said those discussions continue, and that the rising number of evacuations is “encouraging,” then told Keilar it’s important to note that “This is not something that all just happens.”

“This is the result of planning,” she continued. “I know there’s been a lot of criticism of the efforts, and of how things have played out over the last couple of days. But the truth is, the president prepared for this possibility. He prepositioned troops in the Gulf who were able to rush in immediately. 48 hours after…”

Keilar interrupted and said “What I want to focus on is what’s happening right now because we’re seeing pictures of Afghans throwing babies over fences. So I hear what you’re saying about prepositioning this or that. But let’s focus on what it takes to get people safely through those walls.”

Keilar asked Bedingfield what “concrete steps” are being taken to get people into the airport.

Bedingfield said the Pentagon would be better able to offer specifics and said “Of course, the images that we’re seeing are heartbreaking. They’re appalling. It is a scary moment. It is unacceptable to the president. He has directed his team to move as quickly as possible.”

The comms chief went on to say that “the president is laser-focused on this, that he put plans in place and now we’re executing on them.”

As Bedingfield answered Keilar’s lengthy question about the administration’s “moral obligation” to Afghan allies, Keilar interrupted her again.

“Can I finish?” Bedingfield asked, but Keilar plowed ahead.

“You’ll work to get them out. But, you know, this isn’t horseshoes, right? Close doesn’t matter. Will you get them out?” Keilar asked.

“Look, the president has committed we will get every American who wants to get out out of Afghanistan. And we are working to move as many of our allies who helped us, who stood by us, who helped our servicemen and women get out as possible,” Bedingfield said, to which Keilar replied “I’m hearing in there that you are prepared to leave people behind.”

“We are doing everything we can to get as many people out who want to get out before the August 31st deadline. That is the sole focus of the president of the United States and his team right now. They are doing everything operationally within their capacity to get out,” Bedingfield said.

“I do think it’s important, though, to remember, because there’s been a lot of discussion about whether more of this should have happened before Kabul fell,” she continued. “And the one thing I would want your viewers to take on, Brianna, is whenever we began a mass evacuation like this, it was going to trigger chaos. It was going to signal that the Afghan government was on its final legs. It was going to bring people rushing into the airport. So our aim was to try to stabilize the Afghan government as long as we could. When it was clear that was not possible, the president moved in quickly with the contingency plans that he had put in place.”

A White House official provided this update Friday morning in a statement obtained by Mediaite:

On August 19, the U.S. evacuated approximately 3,000 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport on 16 C-17 flights. Nearly 350 U.S. citizens were evacuated. Additional evacuees include family members of U.S. citizens, SIV applicants and their families, and vulnerable Afghans. We have evacuated approximately 9,000 people since August 14. Since the end of July, we have evacuated approximately 14,000 people.

Additionally, in the last 24 hours, the U.S. military facilitated the departure of 11 charter flights. The passengers on those charter flights are not included in the totals above.

Watch above via CNN.