Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) apparently didn’t feel like answering questions about President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on Thursday.
Raju tweeted footage of himself asking the Republican lawmaker if she thought the Senate should consider new evidence in Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial.
McSally retorted: “You’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you.”
Raju continued: “You’re not to going to comment about this?”
“You’re a liberal hack,” McSally sneered.
As a result of the encounter, Raju started trending on Twitter. Fellow media professionals pointed out that he was doing his job.
McSally responded to Raju’s tweet by tweeting out a video of the encounter from her angle, but it still shows Raju politely but firmly asking a question that all senators, regardless of party, were being asked.
Raju’s fellow CNN journalists chimed in to defend him.
McSally’s reaction to a simple and fair question may have unintended consequences for her reelection campaign.
A few hours after the tweet, the name of her Democratic opponent, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, became a trending term on Twitter, with many users citing McSally as the reason.