CNN host Sara Sidner on Wednesday hit again at Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) after he tried pivoting to a Biden administration scandal in response to questions on Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth’s controversial management.
Sidner referred to a CNN report on the chaos on the Pentagon as Hegseth offers with leaks, mass firings and additional infighting — all whereas responding to the fallout of a second Sign chat scandal.
“Does this not hassle you in any respect?” Sidner bluntly requested Donalds, who’s President Donald Trump’s pick to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Donalds responded by claiming that Hegseth is simply weeks into his job and that the Pentagon goes via a transitory section between administrations.
He then pivoted to speak of former Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin’s January 2024 hospitalization following surgical procedure to deal with prostate most cancers. Austin and his employees saved his hospitalization secret on the time, a call that the Pentagon later decided to haven’t any “ill intent” however was extensively criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike.
“No person was saying a phrase when Lloyd Austin, the earlier protection secretary, disappeared for a month,” Donalds claimed.
“We did say a phrase, we reported that story,” mentioned Sidner of the hospitalization scandal. “Wait, maintain on, Byron.”
Austin, after information of his hospitalization surfaced, said it was wrong to hide his most cancers analysis from Biden and the general public. His duties have been taken up by then-Deputy Protection Secretary Kathleen Hicks on the time.
Sidner, after summarizing the hospitalization scandal, unloaded on Donalds.
″[You think that’s] an equal factor to any individual who’s giving out info to his spouse, who doesn’t have a safety clearance, to his lawyer, to his brother, on a private cellphone, on a Sign chat, which he’s already been checked out for, for doing that with an entire bunch of parents from the administration.”
She continued, “You’re equating these two issues. Do you suppose these are the identical issues, and also you’re OK with Pete Hegseth and what he did, however not OK with what Lloyd Austin did?”
Donalds responded, “I’m not equating these two issues.”
Sidner shot again, “You simply did.”
Donalds went on to argue that the hospitalization scandal was “considerably worse” than an “allegation” in opposition to Hegseth.
