CNN anchor Jim Acosta torpedoed Lance Trover’s defense of President-elect Donald Trump over comments about jailing the January 6 committee, exclaiming “Come on man! This is nuts!” during a segment on Monday morning.
Trump sat for an exclusive interview this weekend with NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, during which Trump lashed out at the members of the committee that investigated the January 6 riot and said they should all “go to jail!”
On Monday’s edition of CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta, Acosta and CNN analyst Maria Cardona mocked and even laughed at Trover’s claim that Trump’s “frustration” is justified:
JIM ACOSTA: Lance, let me start with you. Liz Cheney is responding to what Trump had to say. She says “These comments are a continuation of Trump’s assault on the rule of law.”.He’s also talking about pardoning his supporters involved in the attack on the Capitol.But how should we view these comments from the president elect? Because, I mean, it’s no small thing to have an incoming president say that members of Congress should go to jail. I mean, we were just talking about the fall of Assad. I mean, it sounds like something Bashar al-Assad would say, quite frankly.LANCE TROVER: Well, I think you take him at what he said, that he’s not going to direct his legal folks
in the Justice Department to look into this.I think what you’re seeing is somebody who is rightfully frustrated when he’s reflecting over what happened over the course of the last four years in terms of this idea that our government has been weaponized, particularly against him.The idea that there may be a double standard in our justice system. And I think you see that frustration coming out in him. But I would also look at what he said is, look, I’m not– will there be.JIM ACOSTA: More than frustration– he’s talking– I mean, he’s talking about sending members of Congress a jail. I mean.LANCE TROVER: Will there be questions? Will there be reviews? That happens with every incoming administration that looks back at what happened in the previous administration.And remember, there’s only been one Justice Department–.JIM ACOSTA: But Lance– Wait, wait.LANCE TROVER: –that’s gone after somebody. And it’s it’s this current one after him–.JIM ACOSTA: But he did try to overthrow an election. He did hide classified documents at Mar a Lago, wouldn’t give them back–.LANCE TROVER: Joe Biden had classified documents in his house–JIM ACOSTA: Okay. Yeah, but I mean but, Lance, I mean, not to borrow a line from ESPN, but come on, man! I mean. I mean, seriously.LANCE TROVER: If you’re if you–JIM ACOSTA: This, this is this is not something– we should just say, this — look you know, this is nuts!LANCE TROVER: He said, look, he said it right there. Look, he said to Kristen, I’m not going to direct my people to go after this. But if there are questions that look back, if you’re somebody whose home was raided by this current Justice Department while the sitting president whose Justice Department effected that raid, had documents himself, and if you could understand and I think you get outside of Washington, DC and you talk to voters, there is real concern about a double standard in our justice system.MARIA CARDONA: Here’s what there is concern about. There is concern about a president elect of the United States actually obsessed with his enemies list as opposed to a to do list for the American people. That’s exactly what we saw in this interview.JIM ACOSTA: Though, that message did not win in the election. I will say.MARIA CARDONA: I’m with you. But, you know, it was very close. We’re still a very divided country. And the and the president elect saying this does not help that division.In fact, I think it makes it worse because it makes it look like, the Democrats were right. Look at what he is focused on, obsessed with thisand not obsessed with helping the American people.
Watch above via CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta.