GOP Rep Refuses to Address Trump’s Alleged Hitler Praise While Blaming CNN For Not Holding Harris ‘Accountable’

CNN’s Kate Bolduan tried to get an answer from Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) about whether or not he was okay with a report that former President Donald Trump admired Adolf Hitler — and rather than answer, he attempted to blame Bolduan and CNN for not holding Vice President Kamala Harris accountable.

Emmer also used his air time on CNN on Friday to spout GOP talking points, but at no point did he actually answer Bolduan’s actual question. She gave him several chances to address a new ABC poll that revealed that 49 percent of those polled believed Trump was a fascist. That poll was conducted before the bombshell reports by The New York Times and The Atlantic in which Trump’s former chief-of-staff Gen. John Kelly recounted to reporters that the ex-president said “Hitler did some good things” and that he wished that he had military general’s like Hitler’s. In his interview with the Times, which included audio recordings of the conversation, Kelly also said that Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

Rather than answer, Emmer spent the segment deflecting, much to Bolduan’s visible frustration:

BOLDUAN: Here is the quote, Congressman: 49 percent of registered voters in the national survey say Trump is a fascist, defined as a political extremist who seeks to act as a dictator, disregards individual rights, and threatens or uses force against their opponents. Forty-nine percent — that is a high number. Does it worry you?

EMMER: Kate, great to be with you this morning. Donald Trump is going to win this election, and he’s going to win the election because the closing message has been the message all along: Kamala, you broke it. Donald Trump is going to fix it. Donald Trump has a positive message for the future, for Americans on the issues they care about most — the economy, the border, crime, the crises all around the globe. Donald Trump is here to fix those. He’s done it before. He’s going to do it again. That’s why he’s going to win on November 5th, in 11 days.

BOLDUAN: Okay. So, I’m going to decipher, you’re saying it does not worry you. To my question.

EMMER: Again, what — what Americans care about, Kate, is the economy. It’s been impossible for families to buy groceries, to put gas in their tank. They care about this wide, open border and the terrorists and criminals who’ve been coming across our southern border.

That was two attempts to get an answer. Bolduan tried to appeal to Emmer himself, as an individual, about how he felt about the reports:

BOLDUAN: What I’m deciphering is a similar reaction from other Republicans to John Kelly. The latest, John Kelly, Mark Milley coming out to say that Donald Trump, they see, fits the definition of a fascist. The reaction I’m getting from Republicans is that this is baked in with voters, that it’s not going to matter to their vote. Are you personally okay if Donald Trump says that he wants his generals to be like Hitler’s generals?

EMMER: Kate, again, when you talk about this stuff, you want to talk about anything but what the American people care about.

BOLDUAN: That’s not true!

EMMER: The American people care about the economy.

This led to some heated crosstalk during which Bolduan tried to defend her network and Emmer continued to spout talking points. There was one more attempt to get Emmer to provide his feelings on the Hitler comments, and he repeated an earlier answer nearly word for word:

BOLDUAN: Let’s make a deal. I ask this question, you answer it. You answer the actual question and we’ll move on to another issue. Let’s try it this way. Do you personally, are you personally okay if Donald Trump says that he wants his generals to be like Hitler’s generals?

EMMER: Americans do not want to talk about that. They want to talk about the economy. They want to talk about the border. They want to talk about settling the problems all around the world, Kate. You guys want to talk about anything but that. Donald Trump is talking about the things that matter to the American public. She broke it. He’s going to fix it. That’s why he’s going to get elected on November 5th.

BOLDUAN: One, you know, that’s not true, and I know you know that’s not true because you and I, I have covered you for a long time. We talk about all of the issues. You know that. I know that. We just did an entire town hall with Kamala Harris talking about all of these issues, so we can put that to rest. Let’s talk about Fred Upton. He’s a man you know well.

EMMER: Talking about those issues. David Axelrod said her answers at the town hall were a bunch of word salad and non-answers.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, but that’s not the point! Stop flipping it!

EMMER: So, I don’t know how you can say you cover the issues that all Kamala Harris talks about is how she dislikes Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: Just stop for a second! You said why aren’t you guys talking about those issues? I say we are talking about those issues. And then you’re criticizing me for not talking about the issues because David Axelrod’s analysis that she —

EMMER: Because you’re not holding the candidate accountable. She is not answering the questions.

BOLDUAN: Okay.

EMMER: Kate, she’s not answering the questions. And you don’t hold her accountable.

BOLDUAN: Congressman — pot calling kettle black! You’re not answering my questions! You’re not answering my questions!

EMMER: That’s because what the American people — what the people want to talk about, they want to know what the solution is to double digit inflation in the high prices. They want to know who’s going to secure that southern border. She’s left it wide open. They want to know who is going to restore peace around the globe. Donald Trump’s done it. They broke it. He’s going to fix it. That’s why he’s going to win in 11 days.

BOLDUAN: Do you agree that you have not been answering my direct questions?

EMMER: I’ve been answering exactly what the American people are concerned about.

Watch the video above via CNN.