CNN's Carol Costello seemed overly concerned with rhetoric toward Hillary Clinton by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) Friday, asking three times during an interview if he should "cool it" with his attacks.
Previewing her segment with Clinton supporter Maria Cardona and Sanders backer Jonathan Tasini, Costello brought up the continued contentious rhetoric between the two campaigns and pointed out Donald Trump had quoted Sanders' charges that Clinton was not "qualified" to be president.
"So, Jonathan, should Bernie Sanders cool it with the attacks?" Costello asked.
Tasini launched into a discussion about addressing voting problems in New York and across the country, but Costello wasn't interested.
"No, no, and I do think that most voters on both sides think that you're right, that we do need to look at these things," Costello said. "But it is what it is at the moment, and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are running to become the Democratic nominee. So I'll ask you again, Jonathan, should Bernie Sanders cool it?"
"If you took a real, honest look, going back to the early part of the campaign, there has been a relentless negative attack against Bernie, both falsehoods and outright, I think, lies," Tasini said.
As an example, he said the accusation by the Clinton camp that Sanders' health care plan would dismantle the Affordable Care Act was rated "Mostly False" by PolitiFact, but Costello cut in.
"You go all the way up until now, when the attacks by Bill Clinton—" he started.
"But Jonathan, we're at a fork in the road," Costello said. "We're at a fork in the road."
"Let me finish," Tasini said.
"So, maybe both candidates should cool it," Costello said.
Tasini said there was a distinction between personal attacks and legitimate criticism, saying it was not low politics to keep asking Clinton to release her Wall Street transcripts because it spoke to public corruption.
"This is a fundamental question for our country," he said.
Costello and Cardona then teamed up.
"And I think many Democrats would agree with you there, and that is a policy issue, but that's different, Maria, isn't it, from saying that Hillary Clinton isn't qualified to be president or has bad judgment," Costello said.
"Absolutely," Cardona said. "Jonathan lost me right there at the very end."
The CNN host has shown an enjoyment for conflict in the past, however. She once previewed a tape of Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaking in hysterics to police after a fight as "the best minute-and-a-half of audio we've ever come across."