CNN anchor Kate Bolduan was not shy about giving Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) a piece of her mind on Friday morning after the conservative lawmaker openly mocked her and seemed to insult her intelligence.
Massie, who is currently stumping for struggling GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, was pressed by Bolduan over his reluctance to vote for recent House resolutions denouncing antisemitism and recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
The CNN host further brought up DeSantis’ primary rival Nikki Haley slamming the Florida governor last month for stumping with Massie, noting that the Kentucky congressman was the lone Republican to vote against a measure condemning antisemitism on college campuses. Massie also sparked bipartisan condemnation for posting a meme that the White House described as “virulent antisemitism.”
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Massie reacted to Haley’s swipe by saying he “lives rent-free” in her head even though there’s “plenty of empty space in there.” And he defended voting against the resolutions by noting many Democrats joined him because “we believe in freedom of speech.”
But the interview began to take a personal turn when Bolduan dug deeper into Massie’s refusal to support the resolutions, particularly one affirming Israel’s right to exist. (Massie was the only representative to vote against it, while Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib voted present.)
Massie asserted that he refused to support a resolution equating anti-Zionism to antisemitism, and Bolduan countered that nowhere in the bill “does it say criticism of Israeli policy is antisemitic.” She also pointed out how dozens of Democrats, including several Jewish members, voted against a subsequent resolution that actually did attempt to define anti-Zionism as antisemitic. The Republican lawmaker eventually snarked at Bolduan that he doesn’t “vote on the names of resolutions,” adding that this is a “political gotcha” and praising himself for the “courage” he’s shown by appearing on CNN. Bolduan, meanwhile, responded by reading directly from that resolution, which explicitly states that “denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism.”
In response, a smirking Massie decided to ridicule the CNN host. “That’s the name of the resolution,” he snapped. “Congratulations, you’re able to read the name of the resolution.”
“Oh, congressman, I don’t think you want to—I don’t think you’re trying to question my intelligence now, are you?” a visibly irritated Bolduan fired back.
“No, I’m just saying you didn’t have time to prepare for this like I did,” Massie retorted, prompting the CNN host to note that it only took her two minutes to read the two-page resolution.
“Ha, yeah, you took two minutes,” Massie mockingly responded. “There have been 19 resolutions; I know what’s in all of them. I studied them. And I say right on social media, if you had done a little more research, you wouldn’t have to ask me if I acknowledged Israel’s right to exist. It’s right there on my social media.”
While letting Massie know that she has, indeed, read his social media, Bolduan reiterated that she also thought “given what is stated in this resolution, it is worthy of re-asking.” Massie, at this point grinning ear-to-ear, exclaimed that he “really enjoys this dialogue” and hoped he had the opportunity to come back on Bolduan’s show and talk about it further.
“In these resolutions and statements made by Congress and in this resolution, where everyone but you… voted in support of, I’m happy to have you on to discuss,” an unamused Bolduan flatly stated. “And [I] will continue to do my research. And do not appreciate when someone even suggests or insinuates that I’m not prepared.”
Massie attempted to claim he was only suggesting she didn’t “have time” to do as much research as he had done, adding that “you’ve done some research.” Leaving it there, Bolduan tersely ended the chat.
