The top Republican woman in the House became embroiled in a heated exchange on Fox News on Sunday after moderator Shannon Bream raised questions about Rep. Elise Stefanik’s loyalty to former President Donald Trump.
Stefanik’s name has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick for Trump as he runs for a second term in the White House. The New York congresswoman currently serves as chair of the Republican conference.
In the brutal interview, Bream cited a New York Times article in which former friends told the newspaper that Stefanik thought it was “too horrible and ridiculous to be taken seriously.” She reported that Stefanik once called Trump a “wacko” and said his “revisionism still surprises those who have known her the longest.”
“It’s a shame that you cite the New York Times with faceless, anonymous fake sources,” Stefanik responded to Bream in response to the question after Bream asked her when and why she changed her mind about Trump.
Rep. Elise Stefanik appeared in an interview on Fox News on Sunday during which moderator Shannon Bream cited a scathing New York Times article about Stefanik’s shift in support of Donald Trump.
Stefanik has been one of the former president’s closest allies in recent years.
Bream noted that the article quoted some of the congresswoman’s friends and said she was simply giving Stefanik a chance to respond.
‘No, no, no… Shannon, Shannon, you’re not quoting my friends. Those names are not included because they are false slanders,’ Stefanik responded, visibly irritated, interrupting the moderator.
The two continued talking and Bream pointed out that there are people whose names are cited in the article. She added that “people can read it for themselves.”
“This is a false smear and let me tell you a fact, Shannon,” Stefanik insisted. ‘In 2016, I was attacked for being the only elected Republican from the Northeast to vote for President Trump. “Democrats spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking me for that fact.”
“So to say that I didn’t support it is simply false,” the congresswoman added.
Stefanik with Trump in January 2024. The New York congresswoman has been considered a possible vice presidential pick as Trump runs for president.
“I am proud to be one of his strongest supporters since he ran in 2016, which was my first re-election to the House,” Stefanik said.
She maintained that Trump will be elected this fall and that she is one of his strongest allies in Congress.
But Bream didn’t end her tough line of questioning, pointing out that the New York Times article quoted Stefanik herself on a radio station calling Trump “insulting” to women.
Is it a misquote? Didn’t you say that? Pressed gold.
“I said the statements Democrats leaked in 2016 were insulting, Shannon,” Stefanik responded through clenched teeth. “However, I stood by and supported him, and I do support him strongly.”
Moderator Shannon Bream presses Rep. Elise Stefanik about her past stance on Donald Trump during a heated interview on Fox News Sunday.
Bream ended the interview by saying that people can read the article 2023 with the names on the album and quotes and added “clearly you support him now” as Stefanik smiled at the camera.
“Like I supported him then,” Stefanik interrupted with one last word. She ended by saying that she voted for him in 2016 and that she was “attacked for doing so.”
The intense exchange occurred while Stefanik was traveling to Israel, where she spoke before Israel’s Parliament this weekend, praising Trump and criticizing President Biden.
The speech was seen as one that could help curry favor with the former president, as his name has been mentioned as a possible running mate.
Traditionally, American politicians leave American politics at home when they travel abroad, but that was not the case with Stefanik’s speech.
During his speech, he said that “there is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel.”
Elise Stefanik was interviewed during her visit to Israel where she spoke before the Israeli Parliament. During her speech, the congresswoman attacked President Joe Biden
Earlier this month, Biden suspended the sale of 3,5000 bombs to Israel, but his administration still plans to sell more than $1 billion worth of weapons to Israel.
Bream asked Stefanik about the long tradition of leaving politics out of it and not criticizing a sitting president abroad.
‘Is that already outside the door?’ Bream asked.
Stefanik responded that she was asked to speak about her work fighting anti-Semitism and supporting Israel. He said the world needs to know that the House Republican majority “strongly supports Israel.”
He criticized the president, saying Biden’s “weak and failed leadership” does not reflect where the American people are.