‘You’re Being Duped Dude’: Trump Supporter, #NeverTrump Analyst Collide on CNN
A five-way panel on CNN Newsroom descended into chaos Sunday after one of Donald Trump‘s supporters stared down a #NeverTrump political consultant before the two went to town on each other.
Boris Epshteyn was in the midst of defending Trump’s off-the-cuff speaking style when he was asked about whether the mogul should finally apologize to John McCain now that he says he will vote for him. McCain said earlier in the day that Trump still needs to make amends for saying that POWs are not war heroes, but even after being prodded by Ben Ferguson and Pamela Brown, Epshteyn opined that an apology was not necessary.
Communications strategist and #NeverTrumper Liz Mair then entered the fray by saying that Epshteyn’s argument was a “bogus” defense of Trump’s intentional media manipulation, and from there…things dissolved pretty fast.
Mair: “He is calculated in what he says, and the whole idea of what he said was totally off the cuff is nonsense.”
Epshteyn: “You know that how?”
Mair: “I watched Trump and examined his behavior over many years.”
Epshteyn: “You have never met the person, right?”
Mair: “Have you?”
Epshteyn: “Yes.”
Mair: “Then you are being duped, dude.”
Brown and Stephen Collinson tried to rein the conversation back in by looking at whether Trump can win after expressing disinterest in unifying the GOP. Unfortunately for them, their efforts were thwarted when Mair and Epshteyn went at it again after Mair pointed out the current voter projection numbers suggest that Trump is “toast.”
Epshteyn hit Mair for suggesting that establishment Republicans get behind a third-party alternative, while she fired back that he is ignoring facts while his candidate flies in the face of conservative values.
[Image via screengrab]
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