CNN host Ashleigh Banfield lost it on-air Tuesday over a tweet sent by Donald Trump adviser Michael Cohen suggesting Hillary Clinton murdered Ambassador Chris Stevens.
NBC/WSJ poll has @realDonaldTrump beating #CrookedHillary on #Honesty & #NationalSecurity. This picture says it all! pic.twitter.com/E9YKIgoqnV
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) June 28, 2016
On her program Legal View, Banfield said "we know a thing or two about the law" and that the tweet constituted "libel." Although the tweet did not specifically name Stevens, it appeared to refer to him given the release of the House Republicans' Benghazi report this week. Stevens died in the terrorist attack there in 2012, which has been a stain on Clinton's State Department legacy.
"To suggest that a woman murdered an ambassador ... that's pretty strident stuff," Banfield said.
At the close of the segment, Banfield sounded furious at Cohen's conduct.
"Let's just be really frank here, people," Banfield said. "Don't call someone a murderer of an ambassador, for God's sake! It's offensive to Americans who really want the truth in what's going on in politics."
She dramatically held up a screenshot of the tweet in question and threw it down in disgust.
"Please. Give us a break! Campaigning," she added under her breath. She ended the segment there, adding she "nearly lost my cool."
Banfield has been prone to histrionics on her program before. During the government shutdown in 2013, she lost her temper with members of both parties as she pleaded for an end to the discord in Congress.