‘A Threat to National Security’: CNN’s John Avlon Attacks Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville For ‘Grandstanding’ On Military Confirmations
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall on Tuesday said that “we are safe, and we are prepared” when talking about Sen. Tommy Tuberville with Jake Tapper. But CNN political analyst John Avlon on Wednesday argued that the Republican is “risking America’s readiness” by holding up blanket confirmation on top level military nominations.
Kendall and two more of President Joe Biden’s cabinet members — Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro — put out an oped Tuesday at the Washington Post saying that Tuberville is “putting our national security at risk.”
Del Toro went a step further when speaking to Tapper on Tuesday, claiming the Republican is “aiding and abetting” communist and authoritarian regimes by blocking the confirmations and leaving the Army and Marine Corps with acting Chiefs of Staff rather than confirmed ones.
On CNN This Morning on Wednesday, Avlon practically called Tuberville a threat to national security in his own remarks, claiming the confirmation holds will impact readiness — although neither the secretaries nor the Pentagon spokesman cited an impact on military readiness among the negative consequences.
“What Senator Tuberville is doing is a threat to national security,” said Avlon. “He is grandstanding on a specific issue that is important to him and many Republicans, but he’s applying it to something to which it’s largely unrelated.”
“He is risking America’s readiness, military readiness. Pentagon could not be more clear,” Avlon claimed. “If Democrat was doing this, Republicans would be screaming bloody murder on the same grounds.”
He concluded by calling it “outrageous,” but the CNN analyst did not happen to mention that Democrats are refusing to allow individual confirmation votes in order to expedite key positions.
Watch the clip above, via CNN.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
