Stefanik, Fox News host clash over question about Trump
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is seen during a House Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing on antisemitism in K-12 education on Capitol Hill on May 8, 2024.
Rep. Elise Stefanik took exception to being asked about her loyalty to former President Donald Trump by a Fox News host Sunday morning.
The New York Republican got into a heated exchange with “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream over a question about how her support of Trump has changed over time, which comes as she’s being floated as a potential running mate for Trump. Bream cited a New York Times article.
“It's a disgrace you would quote the New York Times with nameless and faceless people,” Stefanik said, which led to a sharp back and forth between the two. When asked to clarify if she had ever called Trump insulting to women because of the "Access Hollywood" tape, she blamed Democrats for leaking the tape in 2016 and doubled down on her support.
“I have been proud to support him, it's a disgrace that you would take a New York Times article and just read negative quotes when I was the only Republican elected woman from the Northeast who voted for him in 2016 who was strongly supporting him, and I'm proud to be one of his strongest allies today,” Stefanik said.
Bream ended the conversation by defending the Times reporting. “We know where you are today. Folks can go read that article for themselves. There are plenty of names, people who went on the record. And we’ll leave it there,” she said.
In a speech to lawmakers in Israel on Sunday, Stefanik slammed President Joe Biden for his withholding of some military aid. Bream said in her questioning that the trip to Israel could have been part of an “audition” by Stefanik to bolster her chances of being Trump’s running mate.
“The world needs to know, and Israel needs to know, that the House Republican majority stands strongly with Israel,” Stefanik said. “That there’s equivocation, this weak, failed leadership that we are seeing from Joe Biden, that’s not where the American people are, that’s not where the United States Congress is.”
In response to the congresswoman's address, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that Israel had no "better friend" than President Biden, noting that he was the first American president to visit Israel during a time of war.
"As he has demonstrated, President Biden’s support for Israel’s security is ‘ironclad,’" Bates said. Eluding to Trump, he added: "Unlike some figures on the right, President Biden did not rail against the Israeli government in the days after October 7, nor has he ever praised terrorist organizations like Hezbollah — and he will not be lectured by any person who was silent in the face of those offensive statements. What’s more, no one should ever confuse January 6th convicts who assaulted police officers with the innocent hostages brutally taken captive by Hamas on October 7th.”
Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.