These Republican Senators can't actually defend anything Trump says, so they have to lie about it instead. As we already discussed here, Trump called any negative reporting of him "illegal" earlier this week when Trump was asked about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel over his remarks about the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin made an appearance on CNN's State of the Union this Sunday, and even though host Dana Bash had just played a clip of what Trump said, Mullin twisted himself in knots denying reality, and continuing to push Trump's election denialism, rather than admitting Trump wants to criminalize anyone who dares to criticize or report negatively on his administration.
BASH: I want to move on to sort of a different version of what we have seen this week from the president. He claimed that 97 percent of stories about him on newscasts are negative. And he said: "I think that's really illegal." Here's a little bit more of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When somebody is given -- 97 percent of the stories are bad about a person, that's no longer free speech. That's no longer -- that's just cheating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Senator, he really seems to be redefining free speech as speech that is only favorable to him.
I can't imagine that you're comfortable with that, as somebody who swore an oath to the Constitution, and a pretty prominent part of the Constitution is the right to free speech.
MULLIN: He didn't say free speech. He said cheating. And what he was referring to is elections.
When you have 98 or 97 percent of the news stories over that...
BASH: No, that's not what he was talking about.
MULLIN: He said -- no, well, he just said it. I just -- I'm playing back exactly the message.
(CROSSTALK)BASH: He wasn't talking about elections. He said 97 percent of stories about him on newscasts are negative.
MULLIN: He said it was cheating. But he said it was cheating. I'm repeating the clip you just played, because I didn't watch that. You just played it for me for the first time.
BASH: But he wasn't referring to elections.
MULLIN: OK, then what would he be referring to when he said cheating?
BASH: He was referring to he believes...
MULLIN: Because he didn't say free speech.
BASH: He believes -- it was a very long, long statement that he made. He was saying that he believes that the stories on network television about him are negative and that it should be potentially illegal. That is my question to you, whether or not you are comfortable with that.
MULLIN: OK, well, I -- that is not -- I can't -- Dana, I can't answer a question I didn't hear.
I'm repeating what the clip you just played. The clip you just played that the president -- and it said that that is cheating. That's his words. That's not me making the assumption. That's not paraphrasing what he said. That's the clip you played. And that 100 percent -- because we have had this conversation, that 100 percent refers to elections.
When you have 97 percent of the news stories on him that's constantly telling bad stories -- and, by the way, that wasn't even close to what was happening with Biden in office. You guys were covering it up constantly what he was doing.
And so when 97 percent of the news stories are negative about him and 99 percent about Pete Hegseth is negative, it is cheating, because you're putting out a narrative that isn't true.
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: I guess my question is, if you just kind of take a step back, sir, because let's say he was talking about -- you speak Trump-speak. You talk to him all the time. Let's just say you're right that when he said cheating he in his mind was referring to elections.
But it is -- since the beginning of time in the United States of America, presidents have not liked the criticism that they got when they get coverage that they don't believe is favorable to them, but they have said that's just part of being the president in the United States of America with a free press.
You don't think there's a slippery slope going on here with that?
MULLIN: Well, I would like to go back and look at the comparisons of how many negative stories were ran against Biden, against Obama, against Clinton, and even against Bush 41 and Bush 43.
BASH: But let's say there was. Does that -- would that give the president the right to crack down?
(CROSSTALK)
MULLIN: I'm just saying, let's -- he didn't say he was going to crack down. He said it was cheating. I'm just repeating the words, but I'm just saying there is a problem. And I agree with him there is a problem.
There isn't any positive -- negative stories that our left-leaning media outlets can tell about him.
BASH: You believe in free speech.
MULLIN: And, look, has he been such a bad president? Absolutely, I believe in free speech. Without a question, I believe in free speech.
But there's a thin line between free speech and when it crosses a line and causes violence. And when you start calling someone fascist, which is what we have seen prescribed on the bullets and on the magazines of these individuals, when you start using words that he's a Nazi and comparing him to Hitler -- and I'm not saying you have done that.
I'm saying this is the negative stories that have been played about him. There is a problem at some point. And some people had to be held accountable. But hate -- free speech is free speech. Hateful speech is also free speech. But when it leads to violence, now there's -- that's a crossover. And when -- and people should be held accountable for that.
He doesn't believe in free speech unless it's for his side of the aisle. And he doesn't have any problems with hate speech either, or he'd be going after Dear Leader for the hateful rhetoric he spews every single week.
