Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who has already publicly backed former President Donald Trump ahead of the GOP primaries next year, gave back as good as he got — or better — from a hostile CNN panel following Trump’s town hall on the network Wednesday evening.
Donalds “battled with CNN commentators and hosts Anderson Cooper, Van Jones and Alyssa Farah Griffin” after the town hall, which CNN’s Kaitlin Collins hosted, ended, Fox News reported.
“Town halls are for the voters, not for the press or the person who is the moderator,” Donalds said in taking a swipe at Collins, who frequently pushed her own views into the moderation.
“Kaitlan spent more time interjecting her own viewpoints or her own views on the situation,” Donalds said as Cooper interrupted him, saying, “Those are actually facts, though.”
“Hold on,” Donalds fired back, “are you guys now going to interject your views on me, or do I get a chance to speak?”
“If you’re speaking falsely, those are facts,” Cooper claimed.
Donalds also pushed back on Collins’ incessant focus on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and Trump’s early insistence that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him.
“Voters want to talk about the border, inflation, foreign policy,” Donalds said, as several of the CNN panelists kept pressing him to say whether or not he believed the 2020 election outcome was valid.
It should be noted that, for years after Trump’s 2016 victory, scores of Democratic lawmakers and left-wing cable news pundits questioned his victory over Hillary Clinton, with many calling him an “illegitimate president.”
“This is what’s frustrating to a lot of people. You want me to state it the way you want me to state it,” Donalds said.
“Most voters are frankly kind of tired of y’all,” Donalds added, arguing that average Americans want to hear discussions from presidential candidates and political leaders about issues like inflation, food and gas prices, housing, and border security.
Meanwhile, Ericka Donalds, the lawmaker’s wife, took to Twitter to defend him.
“So proud of my husband on CNN tonight, interjecting large doses of TRUTH in the middle of their ridiculous biases and rude interruptions,” Ericka, CEO of The Optima Foundation, Inc., a non-profit whose goal is improving excellence in schools and school choice, wrote.
Donalds also took to the platform to post a video clip of his appearance, adding: “The American people aren’t speaking about the 2020 election, a liable case after 25+ years, or January 6th. They are talking about the price of gas/groceries, fentanyl killing Americans 18-45, crime in the streets, & the fear of WWIII. CNN’s top issues aren’t America’s.”
The American people aren't speaking about the 2020 election, a liable case after 25+ years, or January 6th.
They are talking about the price of gas/groceries, fentanyl killing Americans 18-45, crime in the streets, & the fear of WWIII.
CNN's top issues aren't America's. pic.twitter.com/jk4QlHO7L5
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) May 11, 2023
