Friday on CNN’s “New Day,” host Chris Cuomo got into a heated exchange with Republican presidential candidate and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina over whether or not her rhetoric played a role in last month’s Colorado Springs, CO Planned Parenthood shooting.
The fireworks started when Cuomo asked, “Do you feel any sense of regret about how you characterized what was going on at Planned Parenthood after the attack in Colorado? Because of what the man said which seems as though he was influenced by some of the rhetoric coming out of you and others that painted a very ugly picture and unfair one about Planned Parenthood.”
Fiorina shot back “Oh, please. Really, Chris? Nine videotapes have come out about Planned Parenthood. It is very clear what they have been doing. and in fact, Planned Parenthood several weeks ago made a quiet little announcement that they would no longer accept compensation for the sale of what they call fetal tissue. That’s about as close to an admission you can get.”
She continued, “What happened in Colorado is a terrible thing, this guy is a deranged murderer, and I hope he is put away for life. It may be that we should be classifying that as domestic terrorism as well. But that has nothing to do with the truth of what is going on in Planned Parenthood, and this is a typical left-wing tactic, to try and shut down the truth by silencing people. This has happened over and over and over again.”
Cuomo continued, “The videos were edited.”
Fiorina said, “Actually, I don’t know that. There’s been forensic evidence of those nine videotapes over and over again, there have been reports that say they are not edited.”
She added, “It’s clear what your opinion is, Chris … I think you’ve bought the Planned Parenthood line, hook, line and sinker. So good to know that.”
Cuomo said, “I’m asking you if you feel that coming out of Colorado, it gave you any new sense of the power of rhetoric and what it can do, especially when it’s playing on a sensitive issue like abortion as we saw this deranged man went out and killed in the name of saving the baby parts.”
Fiorina replied, “It is unconscionable to deride people who are conservative, their rhetoric, but not to acknowledge that the left uses incendiary rhetoric all the time.”
She continued, “It is not ‘objective’ to say that the left-wing does not try and shut down conversation that they don’t want to have by accusing people of inciting others. Remember Sarah Palin? Sarah Palin was somehow responsible for the attack on Gabby Giffords. It turned out that wasn’t true, either.”
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