Donald Trump's senior advisor Kellyanne Conway fought with CNN host Chris Cuomo over Trump's refusal to come to terms with Russia's intervention in the US election.
Conway deflected, shucked and jived her way around answering direct questions for almost twenty minutes during CNN's early morning "New Day" program.
Kellyanne is a master at shifting a question directed at Trump onto somebody else and she did so many times this morning.
President-elect Trump is finally getting briefed today by the CIA and others with direct information about Russia's interference, but Kellyanne refused to concede many points over and over again.
Conway attacked Cuomo for not asking question, but making statements and Cuomo said, "I'm giving you context because you made conclusions so I have to provide context."
Conway said, "You're giving me opinions."
An example of Conway's deflecting techniques then happened when Cuomo asked, "tell me what's an opinion. Did Clapper Clapper come out in early October and say we know it was Russia?”
Conway deflected and said, ""And what didn't Obama say in response?"
Cuomo replied, "No, no, no, no. “What did he say? That’s the question — what’s the answer? (Conway cross talk) What’s the answer? Did Clapper come out in early October and say we know it’s Russia?”
Conway replied, "Finish the sentence, what is it that we know, that Russia is trying to interfere with the election results? Do you really think that Russia wanted Donald Trump as president?"
He asked, "I'll ask you a third time, did Clapper come out in early October and say we know Russia is behind the hacks, period, full stop.
Conway said, "Behind the hacks of the DNC?
"Yes."
"OK, let's complete the whole sentence..."
"Can you answer now? I'll let you complete it the way you want. Is the answer going to come."
Conway: "He said that. Listen, yesterday, according to CNN, a CNN report that I read in the news that the FBI said the DNC never exceeded to the FBI's very simple request to allow FBI access.
Cuomo cut in, "So, again, irrelevant, irrelevant."
"No it's not!"
"Because here's what we're talking about. Here's my question"
"Then why did CNN report it if it's irrelevant ?"
"It's irrelevant to my question which is why won't the president-elect acknowledge what is so clear to the intelligence community, that Russia was involved in the hacks."
Conway replied, "He gets his intelligence briefing today."
Conway then made the claim that "there are those out there trying to delegitimize his presidency, review the election results and you know it."
No matter what question is asked of Trump or his surrogates on Russian hacks, this is why they refuse to comment on what's at this point common knowledge. Any piece of information they deem will make Trump look weaker is classified as such and their spokespeople then become unresponsive around those topics.
When Cuomo grilled her on why Trump is constantly dissing the intelligence agencies she replied, "You're just making conclusions up..."
Good to know Kellyanne.Conway has mastered the typical conservative deflection on "facts you don't like." 2+2=4? Well that's just your opinion....
