Former President George H.W. Bush's chief of staff John Sununu found himself in an argument with CNN's Alisyn Camerota after coming on for an interview to speak about late Sen. John McCain and dismissing the network's reporting as fake news concerning reports that President Donald Trump blocked a White House statement praising the senator.
"Look, that was printed in The Washington Post," Sununu, also a former governor of New Hampshire, told the "New Day" host.
"And I have to be honest with you, I don’t give much credence to what I read."
"We also have that reporting," Camerota replied.
"Yeah, well, same thing applies, Alisyn," he said.
"I don’t appreciate you denigrating our reporting," she responded. "We have excellent reporters here. Are you saying you don’t want to believe that President Trump would do that about John McCain?"
"I’m saying, I don’t want to comment on a report that I haven’t satisfied myself is correct. You should make your inquiries directly to the White House," Sununu replied.
He also pointed out that he was on the show to speak about his friend, and accused the press of accenting the "cleavage" between the White House and people mourning the senator, who died Saturday night.
"I don't want to be a part of rubbing whatever salt there is in whatever wound there may be because I think that just adds to the division," Sununu said. "I'm here because I lost a good friend. I'm not here to play the political games that some of the press want to play at this moment of what I think is great sorrow for the country."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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