On Friday's New Day, CNN host Alisyn Camerota oddly tried to argue from the left with Republican Rep. Scott Taylor over President Donald Trump's newly announced transgender ban in the military, even though the Virginia Republican clearly stated that he does not agree with the move.
At one point, he even had to admonish the CNN host by responding, "Don't put words in my mouth like that, please. As I said before, I don't support the ban on transgender."
Camerota, similar to her other CNN colleagues, has a history of coming down on the liberal side of gay and transgender issues on the news network's morning show. Just last February, she pressed from the left in a segment that already had two liberal guests who were bullying one conservative guest over the transgender bathroom issue.
On Friday's show, the CNN host had Rep. Taylor on as a guest for almost six minutes, and, after beginning with one question about the health care debate and two about internal feuding within the Trump White House, she spent more than two-thirds of her time with Taylor trying to debate him over the transgender issue when he already mostly agreed with a liberal view anyway.
After Taylor, in his first answer about the ban, declared that he believes transgenders should generally be allowed to serve in the military, although he was opposed to having transgenders take time off from service to have surgeries, Camerota followed up: "Of course, but why are you assuming that a transgender soldier has a medical ailment, I mean, is not ready to serve?"
The Republican congressman corrected her and repeated his views against the ban as he responded:
All right, don't -- don't put words in my mouth like that, please. As I said before, I don't support the ban on transgender. If they are ready to go, if you sign up for enlistment, if you sign up for enlistment for three to four years or whatever it is, but you come in -- no matter who you are and whatever it is -- and you decide that you want to be able to have surgery that puts you out of commission for up to a year and potentially preclude you from serving in some places where you're supposed to do, that's not fair.
Taylor added:
That is not fair to the soldiers that are on your left or right. That is unacceptable to me. Now, that has nothing to do with the ban. Now, that's a different thing, and I wouldn't use the words, you know, it's medical costs. But it's disruption, yes. You have to have equality in standard, and you have to have discipline to have a fighting force. So that's something that I don't support, but I don't support the ban either. If folks are ready to go, come serve.
Camerota followed up: "So what does that have to do with the 4,000 transgender soldiers that are in the military?"
Taylor then reiterated:
Well, from what I understand, as I said, I didn't agree with how that was rolled out of course in a tweet, and I did hear that, you know, that General Dunford said that they won't be affected. And, good, they shouldn't be affected in that way because obviously there's heroic, honorable service happening right now by folks who are transgender in the service right now. So I hope that that continues, that they won't have to have disruption.
After the Republican congressman had stated for the third time that he disagrees with the transgender ban as stated in Trump's tweet, Camerota then shifted to trying to get him to further criticize the President over the policy as the two went back and forth:
CAMEROTA: Why do you think, on a very busy week, with health care in the fore, that the President would send out these tweets and focus on transgender soldiers?
TAYLOR: Again, I can't answer that question. You're going to have to ask the White House. I have no idea, you know. But I've told you my position on it.
CAMEROTA: And have you told the President or have you told the White House your thoughts as a veteran?
TAYLOR: Well, I'm saying that here publicly on national live interview with you, and we certainly put out a statement right away.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Friday, July 28, New Day on CNN:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: That was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moments after a very dramatic vote on Capitol Hill. It happened early this morning, and there was a stunning "no" vote from Senator John McCain, sinking the GOP's effort to repeal Obamacare. What's next? Joining us now is Republican Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia to talk about this and much more. ... I don't know what time you went to sleep, but what was your reaction when you saw John McCain get up and give that very dramatic thumbs down?
[REP. SCOTT TAYLOR (R-VA)]
CAMEROTA: Do you think that the turmoil in the White House that has been so colorfully outlined in places like The New Yorker, yesterday here, the new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, kind of laying it out. Do you think that that has been getting in the way of successful legislation and the President's agenda?
[TAYLOR]
Look, I mean, if the chief of staff, Reince Priebus, is locked in a battle royale with the communications director, how can he be doing his job effectively?
CAMEROTA: Let's talk about something that did come out of the White House this week. You -- we should remind our viewers -- you were a Navy SEAL. You are an Iraq War veteran. What did you think when the President tweeted out that he wants to ban transgender soldiers from the military?
REP. SCOTT TAYLOR (R-VA): Honestly, we were very taken aback because obviously you should't be pushing policy out obviously via tweets. And from what I understand, of course, we went right in to try to find out information from DOD, and they didn't really have the information either, so -- personally, I don't support the ban. I think that if someone is medically, physically, psychologically ready to serve and they meet all the standards, they should be able to serve. Now, obviously, there's one question in there in terms of, you know, paying for surgeries. Well, if you need to have that elective surgery, then you're not physically, psychologically ready to serve, and there's a standard there in the military. And that's something that should be -- there should be equality of standard for sure, but, at the same time, if folks meet all the, you know, the, all the standards, then they should have the ability to serve the nation that we all love. So I was troubled by it, there's no question.
CAMEROTA: You know, the President, one of his rationales that he said in the tweet was that the military -- I'll just paraphrase it very quickly -- "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." Um, that is not supported by the facts. Any sorts of medical treatment are negligible compared --
TAYLOR: I do have to push back a little bit on that because, yes, that is true in terms of overall budget spending and stuff like that, but, again, the military is supposed to be a lethal, disciplined, fighting force. And if you're not ready to serve, you know, to come in and be ready to meet all those standards to serve, then you shouldn't come in. And that means, you know, if you have a medical ailment or anything, you know --
CAMEROTA: Of course, but why are you assuming that a transgender soldier has a medical ailment, I mean, is not ready to serve?
TAYLOR: All right, don't -- don't put words in my mouth like that, please. As I said before, I don't support the ban on transgender. If they are ready to go, if you sign up for enlistment, if you sign up for enlistment for three to four years or whatever it is, but you come in -- no matter who you are and whatever it is -- and you decide that you want to be able to have surgery that puts you out of commission for up to a year and potentially preclude you from serving in some places where you're supposed to do, that's not fair. That is not fair to the soldiers that are on your left or right. That is unacceptable to me. Now, that has nothing to do with the ban. Now, that's a different thing, and I wouldn't use the words, you know, it's medical costs. But it's disruption, yes. You have to have equality in standard, and you have to have discipline to have a fighting force.
CAMEROTA: Yeah, of course.
TAYLOR: So that's something that I don't support, but I don't support the ban either. If folks are ready to go, come serve.
CAMEROTA: So what does that have to do with the 4,000 transgender soldiers that are in the military?
TAYLOR: Well, from what I understand, as I said, I didn't agree with how that was rolled out of course in a tweet, and I did hear that, you know, that General Dunford said that they won't be affected. And, good, they shouldn't be affected in that way because obviously there's heroic, honorable service happening right now by folks who are transgender in the service right now. So I hope that that continues, that they won't have to have disruption.
CAMEROTA: So why is the President doing this?
TAYLOR: I can't answer that question, you know. You'll have to ask him.
CAMEROTA: Why do you think, on a very busy week, with health care in the fore, that the President would send out these tweets and focus on transgender soldiers?
TAYLOR: Again, I can't answer that question. You're going to have to ask the White House. I have no idea, you know. But I've told you my position on it.
CAMEROTA: And have you told the President or have you told the White House your thoughts as a veteran?
TAYLOR: Well, I'm saying that here publicly on national live interview with you, and we certainly put out a statement right away.
