In a heated exchange on Monday night, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper repeatedly interrupted a former Republican congressman as he attempted to defend Donald Trump’s latest unfounded claims about mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. The former president had taken to Truth Social on Sunday, asserting that “20% of the Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent,” without providing evidence to support his claim.
“Here we go again! Where is the U.S. Attorney General and FBI to INVESTIGATE?” Trump wrote. “We Will WIN Pennsylvania by a lot unless the Dems are allowed to CHEAT.” During the segment, former Virginia Republican Rep. Scott Taylor and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger appeared on Cooper’s show to discuss the claim.
When Cooper asked Taylor if Trump’s post was “acceptable,” Taylor responded that millions of Americans had concerns about the 2020 election. Cooper quickly cut him off. “I know but just factually, they don’t have any evidence,” Cooper said. “Like courts looked at it. Just saying, ‘A lot of people feel this’ doesn’t make it true.” Undeterred, Taylor repeated that there were “tons of irregularities” in the 2020 election, prompting Cooper to interject again, asking, “What kinds of irregularities?”
Taylor pointed to the suspension of certain state laws during the pandemic and the use of “unsecured” drop boxes, adding that many people, including members of his family, had concerns about how the election was handled. Cooper, however, was not swayed, cutting off Taylor a third time. “There’s people who think the Earth is flat… It doesn’t make it real.”
Taylor defended his statements as factual, while Cooper turned to Kinzinger for his perspective on Trump’s election-related conspiracies. Kinzinger did not mince words, calling Trump’s claims “disgusting.”
“Man, Scott, I love you, but come on, dude. Our words have an impact on this country,” Kinzinger stressed, pointing out the dangers of perpetuating false election narratives. Taylor chuckled in response, but the tension between the two viewpoints was palpable.
The exchange underscored the ongoing divide within the GOP over Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election, as well as the broader concerns about the impact of election misinformation on public trust in the democratic process.