Seb Gorka Urges Tapper to Move On From Russian Meddling: ‘People Are Dying in Syria’
Over the past few days and especially in the wake of the Donald Trump Jr. bombshell rocking the White House, presidential deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka has been perhaps the most visible administration face, getting into verbal spats with CNN and MSNBC hosts to the apparent delight of President Donald Trump.
This afternoon, a day after a very heated and confrontational interview with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, Gorka returned to the network to tangle with anchor Jake Tapper on The Lead. And while it didn’t get nearly as volatile as his segment with Cooper, Gorka still tussled with the Lead host.
The most noteworthy portion of the interview centered on Trump’s continued resistance to fully pointing the finger at Russia when it comes to election meddling, despite what his intelligence agencies have already concluded. When pressed on the president’s recent comments that nobody really knows who interfered in the election, Gorka shot back at Tapper with his own set of questions:
“Jake, I’d ask you the question, do you wish us to have bad or deteriorating relations with the nuclear power that is the Russian Federation? In whose interest is that?”
Tapper came back with his own observation, stating that “we don’t dole out rewards to countries because they possess a nuclear weapon,” noting that America wouldn’t do that with “China and Pakistan.”
The White House aide explained that the administration is not “looking to create new enemies” and that they would “like to have better relations with Russia.”
The CNN host asked Gorka if he thought it made the United States look weak if Russia is not punished at all for meddling. Gorka responded that Trump already pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue at the G20 Summit and it is now time to move on “because people are dying in Syria, referencing the Syrian ceasefire.
“Russia is killing some of those people,” Tapper dryly noted.
Watch the exchange above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
—
Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
