MAGA Republican and Donald Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik lost her cool with a Fox News host on Sunday as she faced questions over the former president’s past comments about women.
Rep Stefanik appeared on Fox News Sunday where host Shannon Bream brought up a The New York Times article which quoted several of the lawmaker’s former friends, speaking about her transformation into a Trump loyalist.
Ms Bream read out a past 2015 quote from Ms Stefanik, which featured in the article, where she had called Mr Trump “insulting to women” and said he would hurt the Republican party’s image among half of the US population.
“The question is when, and more importantly, why, did you change your opinion about President Trump?” asked Ms Bream.
Ms Stefanik didn’t take kindly to the question and instantly hit out at Ms Bream, saying it was “disgraceful” for her to quote from the Times.
“Shannon, it’s a disgrace that you would quote The New York Times,” she said.
Ms Bream interjected, saying: “But they’re quoting you, Congresswoman.”
“No, no, no, Shannon … they’re not quoting my friends. Those names are not included because they are false smears,” the lawmaker fired back, calling her critics “nameless” and “faceless”.
Ms Bream again corrected her, noting that some of her critics are named.
“To be fair, there are a number of names of people who are quoted in the article,” she said.
Ms Stefanik insisted that the story was a “false smear” as she tried to point out her early public support for Mr Trump upon taking office.
“This is a false smear. And let me tell you … a fact, Shannon, in 2016, I was attacked as the only elected Republican from the Northeast who voted for President Trump,” she said.
“Democrats spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking me for that fact, too. So, to say that I didn’t support him is just false. I have been proud to be one of the strongest supporters going back to when he ran for 2016, which was when it was my first reelection to the House.”
Ms Stefanik is thought to be one of several Republicans vying to be Mr Trump’s running mate in 2024 as the former president seeks a loyalist who will ascede to his demands and whims — following Mike Pence’s personal rebellion against him over his stolen election falsehoods in 2020.
Others reportedly being considered by the former president for the position include Senators Tim Scott and Marco Rubio, as well as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
One of a few Republicans in leadership who did not make a public campaign for the position of speaker last year, Ms Stefanik was nevertheless caught up in the chaos of her party’s calamitous ouster of their own leader Kevin McCarthy.
She ended up nominating Jim Jordan for the speakership, only to see her conservative ally fall.
Her transformation from a Trump critic to a Trump loyalist is one that has been the subject of several articles in major newspapers such as the Times and is clearly a piece of political baggage she has struggled to shrug off.
Trump’s selection of a running mate is thought to be all the more important this year as he is currently on criminal trial in New York and faces three more criminal cases – two of them centered around his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
