Meet the Press Gets Heated After Conservative Guest Accuses Panelists of Ganging Up on Her: ‘I’m the Only Republican Sitting Here!’

The panel on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday got into a heated back-and-forth over GOP sentiment amid Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

MTP played a soundbite of former President Donald Trump saying — during his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC — “The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he’s smart, but the real problem is that our leaders are dumb. Dumb. So dumb.”

The show then played a clip of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying earlier this month that Putin is “very shrewd, very capable. I have enormous respect for him.”

Moments later, Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington, D.C., said, “I think President Trump’s judgment on Russia and on Putin has not been awesome. I think Mike Pompeo misspoke. I don’t think that Mike Pompeo actually deeply…”

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interjected, “He said it several times, Danny.”

“I know, Andrea, but I don’t think that’s what he believes,” said Pletka.

Amid crosstalk, Pletka held up her hands and said, “Hang on. First of all, there are four of you and one of me. I’m the only Republican sitting here! Hang on a second.”

“We’re not Republicans or Democrats,” said Mitchell. “We’re journalists.”

“Well, three of us,” said MTP host Chuck Todd. NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker and NBC News national security analyst Jeremy Bash were on the panel, in addition to Mitchell.

Pletka said:

I’m not going to touch that, baby. What I’m trying to say here is that I think that there’s a missed opportunity, as you say, largely because of these stupid, stupid statements and because there’s so much that Republicans can do in Congress. We’ve seen Republicans push for much stronger sanctions than the Democrats have pushed for. Push on President Biden for a larger supplemental. Ask him why he wasn’t prepared despite this excellent information campaign he ran against Russia. If you knew what was coming, why didn’t you prepare?

“That’s all fair criticism,” replied Mitchell.

“But let me just say about Mike Pompeo, he is so eager to get to the right of Ted Cruz and other 2024 wannabes that to embrace Putin and align himself with Trump on that just shows that he doesn’t believe it, okay, he’s a smart guy,” she continued. “He’s a West Point guy.”

The conversation then became a three-way argument between Pletka, Mitchell and Bash:

Pletka: Then he’s going to write himself out of 2024. I think that people have enough judgment to see that when someone says something like that, you can’t unhear it. I can’t speak for every voter, but…

Bash: Yeah, but it’s also dangerous because if one of these people…

Mitchell: It’s being used by Russia’s propaganda.

Pletka: Of course.

Bash: …were to be president today, Putin would have much more of a field day than he is even having. The NATO Alliance would be fractured if Donald Trump were president.

Pletka: Jeremy, that is absolutely untrue. And there is a poll that just came out… I’m sorry, I couldn’t disagree with you more.

Mitchell: Oh, my God, Dany, you know better than that.

Pletka: I actually do know better than that, Andrea.

“But Pompeo has not figured out how to answer for why he said it in the first place,” said Welker. “And if he has any desire to run in 2024, he’s got to figure it out.”

“Okay, but this is politics,” said Pletka. “What we’re talking about is national security.”

“It’s dangerous when it gets on Russian television,” said Mitchell.

“Yes, I agree,” replied Pletka.

Watch above, via NBC.