Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo found himself in a fierce debate with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday. Tensions flared as Ramaswamy did not mince words, accusing the mainstream media, and Cuomo in particular, of being biased and divisive.
Ramaswamy has been a vocal critic of the media’s role in political discourse, asserting that establishment outlets have been peddling falsehoods to the American populace.
During the third Republican presidential debate, Ramaswamy slammed the fake news media and questioned the decision to have far-left NBC, Kristen Welker and Lester Holt host a Republican debate.
The political temperature soared on Monday’s broadcast of News Nation when GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy unleashed a barrage of critiques toward show host Chris Cuomo. The debate turned personal and politically charged as Ramaswamy took aim at Cuomo and what he termed the “Establishment media.”
Chris Cuomo: Why do you keep going at Nikki Haley? Why do you think this is going to bear fruit?
Vivek Ramaswamy: Chris, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, man. You and the rest of the mainstream media is laughable. Nikki Haley has been going after me the whole campaign: first debate, second debate. You know, she’s been trailing me for much of the time. But I realize the establishment media has realized that there’s a puppet they want to put up. I’m not playing that game. The grassroots of this country want a leader who isn’t going to send us, our sons and daughters, to go die in foreign wars that racked up 7 trillion in debt. Dick Cheney 2.0 has taken over the GOP. The problem is the Democratic establishment media is now rooting for war too. I’m the only candidate speaking for a true America First agenda on that debate stage, and I think we’re going to be successful.
Chris Cuomo: Vivek, how are you going to bring people together when you just put together a tapestry of conspiracies? You know that I’m not pitching anything about Nikki Haley. She won’t even come to my show.
Vivek Ramaswamy: There’s no tapestry of conspiracies.
Chris Cuomo: She won’t even come on my show. What are you talking about?
Vivek Ramaswamy: I’m sure she doesn’t.
Chris Cuomo: Hold on a second. I let you put it out there. And now you know, I get to finish smoking, and now I get to answer, which is, oh, ‘This is what the media is doing, is putting up Nikki Haley against me because they know I’m the real deal.’ Please. She hasn’t even been on my show. I’m just watching you get slapped around by her. And I’m wondering what your strategy.
Vivek Ramaswamy: My strategy is calling out the mainstream media like I did to Kristen Welker. At the start of that debate, I asked her about the Trump-Russia collusion hoax . I told her to look the audience in the eye and apologize to them. Just like I’ll tell you, you’re a part of the mainstream media despite pretending like you’re not. Look the audience in the eye, and tell them you covered for your brother.
Chris Cuomo: I’m part of the mainstream media.
Vivek Ramaswamy: Of course you are. And you play the same games that the rest of the mainstream media does. You are doing it tonight.
Chris Cuomo: Hey listen, you don’t want to take care of your family, that’s fine. Vivek, I am not playing a game.
Vivek Ramaswamy: You’ve been you have been covering for your brother. You’ve been playing a game. You have been kicked out from CNN.
Chris Cuomo: Of course, I helped my brother. Yeah, of course I do.
Vivek Ramaswamy: You know what that’s been? Journalistic standards that have now been failed not just by you, but by every member of the broken political media.
Chris Cuomo: So everyone is In the media most responsible for covering for my brother? See what I’m saying? You missed the target by going too broad.
Vivek Ramaswamy: 90% of the media is colluding with respect to pushing one answer on the American public for the origin of Covid 19 to the Hunter Biden laptop story, to now which people they decide they want to put up as their puppets to take on Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy took to social media after the show, blasting Cuomo.
“I get that Chris Cuomo is trying to rebrand himself as some neutral journalist, but I’ll call a spade a spade: Chris & the rest of the Establishment media have been force-feeding lies to the American people for years with the intent to divide us and now they’ve picked their favorite Republican stooge. The people won’t be fooled.”
I get that @chriscuomo is trying to rebrand himself as some neutral journalist, but I’ll call a spade a spade: Chris & the rest of the Establishment media have been force-feeding lies to the American people for years with the intent to divide us and now they’ve picked their… pic.twitter.com/rrT4GKqCim
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 14, 2023
