Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) defended mocking Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Twitter saying he was “going to call people names” because he said, “It’s inappropriate for the president to do that.”
Partial transcript as follows:
HARLOW: Congressman, you issued a series of scathing tweets about the attorney general and about the the president before, during and after the congressional testimony yesterday by Attorney General Sessions. You attacked his appearance. You mocked his looks, saying he looked like Kate McKinnon who plays him on SNL. You also repeatedly called him a liar. To prejudge his testimony, your tweets about him being a liar were before he even appeared in front of you. Why is that appropriate? Why prejudge him?
LIEU: Because he lied to the U.S. Senate. After he made his statements, evidence came out later that showed his statements under oath to the U.S. Senate were in fact false. By the way, I am choosing words that the president of the United States uses on his Twitter.
HARLOW: I understand that. But does that make it right? Do you like hearing the president use words like that, like Lying Ted so you repeat them?
LIEU: I am absolutely highlighting it.And until the president changes I will keep doing it because I do want to highlight how ridiculous it is, absolutely.
BERMAN: Is that a grown up thing to do, Congressman?
LIEU: So remember when Michelle Obama had that beautiful line, ‘When we go low we go high.’ My view is when they go low we fight back. I going to fight back.
BERMAN: When they go low we stay low?
LIEU: I am fighting back. I am going to use the president’s own words against him, against his members of his administration, and I’m going to throw it right back at him absolutely.
HARLOW: Is that what you —
LIEU: Yes. If he — if he calls people names, I’m going to call people names, because I think it’s inappropriate for the president to do that.
HARLOW: Is that what you would teach your children to do? Is that what we should teach our children to do?
LIEU: I teach my children they should stand up to bullies. The president of the United States is a bully, I am going to stand up to him, absolutely.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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