CNN host Brian Stelter called out White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway on Sunday for pivoting to Hillary Clinton every time he asked about possible collusion between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian agents.
During a lengthy and contentious interview, Conway accused CNN of profiting off of opposition to President Donald Trump.
"You want to talk about approval ratings and I'm telling you the numbers that matter to Americans," Conway snapped at Stelter.
"Because his approval ratings are shockingly low," Stelter noted. "It's a problem, not just for you and for me, but for the nation that this president is not trusted by the American people."
"That's wrong," Conway replied. "You know what's a problem for the nation? That you refuse -- CNN used to be a place where people can tune in and get the news all day long. Now, they get spin and people's opinions. And I think CNN should own it. Why not just say, 'Look, it's in our commercial interest at CNN to be anti-Trump'?"
"I understand that you don't want an adversarial media," Stelter remarked. "I guess you just want everybody to be like Fox News."
"Stop being so jealous of Fox News," Conway jabbed. "I think that would help if you dropped the jealousy a litle bit about Fox News."
As the interview continued, Stelter told Conway that he found it troubling that Trump was trying to "meddle" in the Justice Department's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
"The FBI and the Justice Department don't seem interested in both sides of the so-called collusion coin," Conway complained. "We've got multiple investigations through [Special Counsel Robert Mueller], through congressional and Senate committees. And CNN itself has been so hot on Russia, Russia, Russia and the dossier. CNN has been obsessed with this dossier for over a year now."
She added: "And now we know the DNC and the Clinton campaign paid the same firm for said dossier, which is completely unverified."
"Parts of it have been verified," Stelter said. "That is misinformation that you are spreading on my program."
"Then let's look at all sides of the coin!" Conway exclaimed. "Hillary Clinton, as Donna Brazile just pointed out -- I agree with her completely -- she was a walking, talking treasure trove of how to beat Hillary Clinton. We never needed to look farther than her."
"I think viewers see your pivot," Stelter interrupted. "When I say Russia, you say Clinton. It's part of a strategy."
"No, no, no, no! Sorry!" Cownay said. "I would be happy to never talk about the 2016 election again."
