CNN Anchor Throws Down With House Republican Over Whether Or Not He Will Back Election Results: ‘What Does That Mean!?’
CNN anchor Pamela Brown argued with Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) for claiming he will only certify the presidential results if it is a free and fair election.
During a Thursday interview, Brown repeatedly pressed the GOP lawmaker if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power after he tried dodging the question throughout the segment.
Recently, special counsel Jack Smith filed a 165-page motion regarding Donald Trump’s immunity claims in his criminal prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The document accuses the former president of “resorting to crimes to stay in office.”
Brown asked Waltz about the recent developments in Trump’s criminal trial and whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
BROWN: I do want to ask you, given you’re a member of Congress, as we look ahead to the next election, your role is critical in certifying the results of the election. And I just want to ask you, can you commit to a peaceful transfer of power after every state has certified its election results?
WALTZ: Well, I mean, you know, a couple of things there to unpack that question. One, it makes no sense except for a political motivation that Jack Smith and the judge unsealed this before the Trump campaign even had a chance to respond. They were given to mid October to to respond. Number two, the reason he’s filing a superseding indictment is that the Supreme Court ruled that the official acts did not allow this into the realm of criminal activity. This is politically driven. It’s being done deliberately and the weeks before. And I got to tell you, I’m not hearing from a single constituent any concerns about this. It’s inflation, the economy, the border crime and the world that’s in that’s in chaos. And that’s the reason that the Harris campaign abandoned all of this after Biden…
BROWN: Will you commit to a peaceful transfer of power?
WALTZ: …At the end of the day, yes, yes, we should have a peaceful transfer of power in this country. Absolutely.
BROWN: And you will certify the results if every state certifies the results?
WALTZ: If it is a free and fair election, absolutely.
BROWN: What does that mean? What does a free and fair election mean? 2020 was a free and fair election, and members of Congress tried to overturn the results. So what does that mean to you?
WALTZ: Well, ask Hillary Clinton. When she said Trump was not a legitimate president…
BROWN: No, no, no. Being a sore loser which Democrats have been is different than trying to overturn the will of the people.
WALTZ: We talked about this, you and I, in 2021, I voted to certify. Others didn’t. They had their concerns. But we worked things out in the courts and we worked things out in debate. There should never be a riot. And at the end of the day, we had Joe Biden come in as president. So Jack Smith has a political motivation, and I think that’s crystal clear.
Watch the clip above CNN.
