CNN host Chris Cuomo criticized Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) for “acting like a punk” and tarnishing the late Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) legacy when she called a CNN reporter a “liberal hack.”
“She really acted like a punk today,” Cuomo told fellow CNN anchor Don Lemon. “She did a disservice to herself and the seat that she holds, which is John McCain’s.”
McSally, an Arizona Republican appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey to fill the Senate seat left open by McCain and later vacated by former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), is not apologizing for calling CNN reporter Manu Raju a “liberal hack” on Thursday despite multiple media personalities ganging up on her and calling her behavior “unacceptable”:
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator McSally, should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial?
SEN. MARTHA MCSALLY (R-AZ): Manu, you’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you.
RAJU: You’re not going to comment, Senator, about this?
MCSALLY: You’re a liberal hack, buddy.
Cuomo then mentioned McSally’s Democrat opponent, Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), saying that McSally has an uphill battle against Kelly.
“There’s no question she has a tough race on her hands,” he said. “The question is, is she ruining it all right now? Because if you want to be John McCain, you can’t be doing what she did today.”