CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Busts Trump Over Slain Lawmaker — With Video Receipt
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins called BS on President Donald Trump over his responses to questions about slain Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) — complete with a video receipt.
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the manhunt that ended in the arrest of suspect Tyler Robinson have dominated the news media since the shooting unfolded live last Wednesday.
One political subplot of the story has been criticism that Trump ordered the lowering of flags for Kirk, but not for the pair of Minnesota lawmakers — Hortman and State Sen. John Hoffman (D-MN) — who were assassinated in June.
Trump feigned ignorance when asked about Hortman on Monday, and claimed he would have honored Hortman if only he’d been asked.
But on Monday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins countered Trump’s response with a clip of her own exchange with Trump back in July — in which Trump did not seem positively inclined toward accommodating Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN):
KAITLAN COLLINS: I should note, we heard from the President in the Oval Office today. And at one point, he was also asked why he lowered flags to half-staff, following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, but has declined to do so for other victims of political violence, including a Democratic state lawmaker from Minnesota who was murdered alongside her husband, this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you think it would have been fitting to lower the flags to half-staff when Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota House Speaker, was gunned down by an assassin as well?
TRUMP: I’m not familiar. The — who?
REPORTER: The Minnesota House Speaker, a Democrat–
TRUMP: Oh.
REPORTER: –who was assassinated this summer, and the–
TRUMP: Well, if the Governor had asked me to do that, I would have done that, but the Governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me. I didn’t — I wouldn’t have thought of that. But I would have, if somebody had asked me. People make requests for the lowering of flag, and oftentimes you have to say no, because it would be a lot of lowering. The flag would never be up. Had the Governor of Minnesota asked me to do that, I would have done that gladly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump says if Governor Walz had asked him to lower the flags, after Melissa and Mark Hortman’s murder, that he would have.
But back in July, when I asked the President, on Air Force One, if he planned to call the Governor, he told me he thought it would be a waste of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Have you called the governor yet, or been able to speak to any of them?
TRUMP: I don’t really call him. He appointed this guy to a position. I think the Governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling. Why would I call him? I could call him and say, “Hi, how are you doing?” The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. So, you know, I could be nice and call him, but why waste time?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
