CNN’s Jim Acosta and Rep. Darrell Issa Spar Over Larry Elder’s Past Comments About Women: ‘That’s Not Entertaining. That’s Disgusting’
Jim Acosta and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) sparred over past comments made by Larry Elder about women, with the congressman framing them as “entertaining,” and the CNN Newsroom host retorting that they were “disgusting.”
Elder is a conservative talk radio host and the Republican frontrunner to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) if the upcoming recall election removes him from office. Elder has never held elected office before.
“He’s made a number of disparaging remarks about women,” Acosta remarked, introducing a clip of Elder:
When you look at all these women that have marched, something like 2 million women, Donald Trump had probably gotten more obese women off the couch and in the streets, working out, than Michelle Obama did in eight years.
“Do you think Larry Elder should be the next governor of California?” Acosta asked.
Issa replied, “I think Larry Elder, with tens of thousands of hours on the air, entertaining and thought-provoking, if that’s the worst you can find –”
“That’s not entertaining,” Acosta interjected. “That’s disgusting. What he said is disgusting. That’s –”
“I appreciate, Jim, your saying it’s disgusting,” Issa broke back in, calling the clip similar to the “bombastic statements” made by other famous radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh “from time to time to make a point.”
“In tens of thousands of hours, if that’s the best you have, you don’t really have anything on Larry Elder,” Issa added.
“Oh, there’s lots of other material, as you know, Congressman,” said Acosta. “We don’t have time to go through all of it. But it sounds as though you’re saying Larry Elder would make a better governor of California than Gavin Newsom?”
“There’s 41 people running, or 44 people running, and I suspect the vast majority of them would go in the right direction better than our current governor,” said Issa. “No question at all.”
Issa said that the people of California had “lost faith in their governor,” and that was shown by polls showing even a majority of Democrats wanted Newsom and his “failed administration” to be recalled.
“So if the fact is, it’s not Republican Darrell Issa saying it. It’s the polls that consistently show that half of Californians have lost faith in this governor because he does things like say you’ve got to wear a mask and can’t be indoors, and then goes to a $2,000 a plate dinner at the French Laundry with no masks and laughs at everyone as they drink wine indoors.”
California “fundamentally has everything going for it, except the people in Sacramento,” said Issa, and called Elder “a thoughtful conservative who has a lot of great ideas.”
Watch the video above, via CNN.
