CNN Host Clashes With Ex-Trump Adviser Over His Lies: ‘Literally Too Many to Recount’
CNN host Sara Sidner and Steve Cortes sparred on Monday night over Donald Trump’s long list of lies.
Cortes, a former Trump campaign adviser in 2016 and 2020. He is now supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president.
DeSantis has yet to declare, but it is expected he will announce a challenge to Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination soon.
Sidner asked Cortes, a former Newsmax host, why he’s changed horses.
“Why are you backing Ron DeSantis now, instead of Donald Trump?” she inquired.
“I was honored to advocate for President Trump and for the America First movement broadly for many years,” he replied. “I now believe that this is the next natural phase of that movement. And by that, I mean that I believe that Governor DeSantis is the most electable, most conservative candidate out there who can both win the general election, as well as govern effectively, as actually implement, through discipline and focus, the most conservative policy agenda possible.”
Sidner then turned to Trump and his long-running war against reality, which would include his false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him, his claim in early 2020 that the U.S. would soon have zero Covid cases, and his insistence that when he referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook and “Tim Apple” as a way to save time.
“You said that you endorsed Donald Trump partly because he was a disrupter, and you think DeSantis is the same thing,” Sidner said. “He was a liar. He lied a lot. He was a president who stoked division and anger. And Trump denies this, but there are some people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy who said they blamed Donald Trump for their actions, breaking into the Capitol. Would you be OK if DeSantis acted in the same way as former President Trump?”
Cortes tried to dispute the fact that Trump lies.
“Well, Sara, you and I are certainly not going to agree,” he replied. “I do not think that Donald Trump is a liar. I think he was exactly the disrupter that we needed back in 2016. But just because he was the right–”
“Well, he has been caught in many lies,” Sidner objected. “Just to be fair, he has been caught lying over and over and over again.”
Cortes challenged Sidner to cite a lie.
“I’m here to advocate for Governor DeSantis, but give me a Trump lie then, and let’s discuss it,” he said.
“There are too many of them to even recount,” she responded. “Literally too many to recount.”
The two then moved on to discussing DeSantis’s looming candidacy.
Watch above via CNN.
