CNN’s Kasie Hunt Calls Out Trump’s Loyalty Demands In Bill Maher Hit On Election Lies: ‘Let’s Be Real’

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt called out the way President Donald Trump “commands loyalty” from Republicans in a discussion of the 2020 election and the riot Trump’s election lies inspired.

On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the interview guest was Major General Paul Eaton, retired U.S. Army general and senior advisor for VoteVets and the Vet Voice Foundation.

The panel guests were Sen. John Kennedy, Republican senator from Louisiana and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book “How to Test Negative For Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will”; and Kasie Hunt, anchor of CNN’s “The Arena with Kasie Hunt.”

When Kennedy gave a ginger response to a question about the 2020 election, Maher asked Hunt to “translate” and she called out the “difficult position” Trump’s demands put Kennedy in:

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The 2020 election, did he win that one? Here’s why I see it better. The issue is not… The issue is not whether the 2020 election was manipulated. Both sides did everything they could. The issue was whether it made a difference. And the only way you can prove that it made a difference is to go in front of God, country, and a federal judge and prove it. And that hasn’t been proven, so the election was legal.

BILL MAHER: What is he saying now?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): You want me to repeat it?

BILL MAHER: No, no, I want her to translate.

CNN ANCHOR KASIE HUNT: I… So… The center.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Kasie, you can call me an ignorant slut if you want to.

CNN ANCHOR KASIE HUNT: Than that. I am more polite than that, I was raised to be more polite than that.

Look, look, there are so many layers here, okay? He is in a difficult position when that question is asked because of President Trump and the way he commands loyalty from all of the Republicans in your party. I mean, let’s be real about that, right?

But the reality is, I mean you were at the Capitol on January 6th, I was at the capitol on January 6th. I looked out the window, I saw the mob.

I mean, the idea that, you know, the president, and we were there for hours, right? I mean I got into journalism because I thought it was public service, right, we’re all in this democracy together, I wanted to play a little bit of a part in it.

There are people attacking the building, we find out later they’ve carved, “kill the media” and other things, they’re hunting Nancy Pelosi, they are yelling hang Mike Pence.

The president’s at the White House, and for hours no one comes, right. No one. We found out later they were called, but then the president basically wouldn’t let the call go through. It’s a little more nuanced than that. That’s basic facts of the case.

The idea that then we’re not going to say, look around and say, hey, how do we hold people accountable for that is kind of where we are now. And I will say that in terms of lawfare and the way the system…

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Do you think you should be prosecuted for that?

CNN ANCHOR KASIE HUNT: Well, I mean, he was prosecut–, like he was about to be and then he won an election.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): But if you were a prosecutor, would you prosecute him for that?

CNN ANCHOR KASIE HUNT: I’m not a prosecutor. I’m a lawyer. I’m journalist.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Well, I’m a TV host and I have to say that’s all the time we have for the panel.

Watch above via HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

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