As Donald Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway appeared as a guest on Monday's New Day on CNN, co-host Chris Cuomo spent close to half the segment pressing her over Trump's recent tweets criticizing Saturday Night Live's biased portrayal of him, along with the cast members of the play Hamilton recently confronting Vice President-elect Mike Pence at one of their shows.
It was not until about three and a half minutes into the seven and a half minute segment that the CNN host pivoted to asking about Trump's cabinet nominees when he, not surprisingly, started by pressing her over whether Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is too controversial to serve as Attorney General.
Cuomo brought up Trump's recent tweets as he began the segment:
I know you've been holding a lot of meetings, but we are distracted from a little bit of analysis of the cabinet by the tweeting once again. You say you want him to communicate directly with the people. It's certainly part of his toolkit that helped him become President.
I don't think anyone can reasonably deny that, but is this a good thing for him going forward, asking for equal time as President? You know you don't get that. Going after critics? Is this really how he's going to spend his time as President?
After the two got into a back and forth over whether Trump was correct in putting down the quality of the Hamilton show, Conway wondered: "But why do you care? In other words, who's to say that he can't do that, make a comment, spend five minutes on a tweet and making a comment and still be President-elect?"
After she then asked why Cuomo does not focus on official meetings Trump has had rather than his tweeting, Cuomo bristled: "So he gets -- so he doesn't take any responsibility for his own tweets? It's on me for focusing on it?"
Conway then suggested that media like CNN did not "learn a lesson" from the election about what voters find important: "I didn't say that. I didn't say he wasn't responsible, but you're assigning malice or you're assigning wrongdoing to him where it doesn't exist, and I think we all should have learned a lesson from the election that that doesn't fly with the voters."
More than three minutes into the segment, the CNN host turned to the Sessions nomination and tried to coax Conway into bringing up the criticisms of the Alabama Senator from the left. Cuomo: "Let's talk about some of these choices. Jeff Sessions as AG, what do you believe or anticipate the problems with confirmation to be because of his history that's going to be a big concern to people on the left?"
After Conway recalled some of Senator Sessions' history of prosecuting a KKK member and other actions supporting civil rights, Cuomo took a slight condescending tone as he tried to get Conway to bring up criticisms of Sessions. Cuomo: "You're leaving some facts out, though, right? He got denied a judgeship in 1986 Was there a reason for that?"
After the Trump advisor defended Sessions, Cuomo added:
Wouldn't it be easier for him to come out and say, "By the way, this stuff about me joking about the KKK, that's nonsense. I believe the NAACP is a good organization. I believe the Voting Rights Act is an important law, as the Attorney General, to enforce in this country."
After Conway responded, "But he voted for all types of civil rights extensions," Cuomo pressed: "He's been actively against that act for a long time."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Monday, November 21, New Day on CNN:
7:10 a.m. ET
CHRIS CUOMO: I know you've been holding a lot of meetings, but we are distracted from a little bit of analysis of the cabinet by the tweeting once again. You say you want him to communicate directly with the people. It's certainly part of his toolkit that helped him become President. I don't think anyone can reasonably deny that, but is this a good thing for him going forward, asking for equal time as President? You know you don't get that. Going after critics? Is this really how he's going to spend his time as President?
[KELLYANNE CONWAY]
CUOMO: That's not what he's tweeting about, though, Mike Pence says he wasn't offended. He says that Hamilton's overrated, which is, by the way, wow-
KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP ADVISOR: Well, that's his opinion.
CUOMO: I know, but wow.
CONWAY: I'm going. I'm taking my 12-year-olds for their birthday.
CUOMO: Sold out till next August. They will love it.
CONWAY: The tickets are so expensive, it's all they got for their birthday. Sorry, honeys.CUOMO: They will love it.
CONWAY: But the fact is, but they may love it. I think-
CUOMO: But I'm saying: Why take it up? Why take up SNL? No President does that. Why take it up? Why waste the time? Why distract?
CONWAY: But why do you care? In other words, who's to say that he can't do that, make a comment, spend five minutes on a tweet and making a comment and still be President-elect?
CUOMO: Having the right to do it is absolute. Nobody is saying that. But, as my President, as my President-
CONWAY: Then focus on what he did this week as your President-elect, which was unbelievable -- I'm even going to say unprecedented, dozens of meetings with world leaders.
CUOMO: So he gets -- so he doesn't take any responsibility for his own tweets? It's on me for focusing on it?
CONWAY: I didn't say that. I didn't say he wasn't responsible, but you're assigning malice or you're assigning wrongdoing to him where it doesn't exist, and I think we all should have learned a lesson from the election that that doesn't fly with the voters.
CUOMO: Except that this isn't about his base as an insurgent and playing on what people are angry and frustrated about.
CONWAY: He didn't win because he got his base, he won because he won -- we won Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin for the first time in decades.
CUOMO: True, but that's not like it's a blowout, right? You won by 100,000 votes in three states, and you lost the popular vote. He's now President of everybody.
CONWAY: He said he will be.
CUOMO: Why focus on divisions? That's all I'm saying.
CONWAY: He's not focused on divisions. This network and other people will always be focused on his divisions. How about accepting the election results, Chris, and letting him form a government?
CUOMO: How have we not done that?
CONWAY: By this conversation and others. Look, I know you. We go way back-
CUOMO: No, I mean, look, the tweeting -- the tweeting is on him. That's all I'm saying. It's not on us.
[CONWAY]
CUOMO: And a leader should also have a thick skin. Let's talk about some of these choices. Jeff Sessions as AG, what do you believe or anticipate the problems with confirmation to be because of his history that's going to be a big concern to people on the left?
[CONWAY]
CUOMO: You're leaving some facts out, though, right? He got denied a judgeship in 1986 Was there a reason for that?
[CONWAY]
CUOMO: Wouldn't it be easier for him to come out and say, "By the way, this stuff about me joking about the KKK, that's nonsense. I believe the NAACP is a good organization. I believe the Voting Rights Act is an important law, as the Attorney General, to enforce in this country."
CONWAY: But he voted for all types of civil rights extensions.
CUOMO: He's been actively against that act for a long time.
CONWAY: You have to look at the full measure of the man, and I know people who don't want to respect the election results, whoever they are out there. There seem to be many -- there seem to be many-
CUOMO: I think that's an excuse, Kellyanne. I'm talking about the Attorney General.
CONWAY: --excuse me -- are still in campaign mode. They're still in campaign mode.
CUOMO: He's Attorney General, your choice. He is actively against the Voting Rights Act.
[CONWAY]
CUOMO: That's an opinion. I'm just asking about the facts of his service, both past and present, and I'm happy to put him right where you are and interview him anytime he wants. Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney for Secretary of State? There seems to be this binary conversation going on here -- it's one or the other. Is that true, in terms of the internal calculus? Is Rudy Giuliani not up for anything else if he doesn't become Secretary of State?
[CONWAY]
CUOMO: And the President-elect is willing to forgive all the things that were said about him by Mitt Romney?
[CONWAY]
