This week on the Sunday news shows: CNN host Brian Stelter attempts to deflect blame for Hillary Clinton's false attack on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) by blaming Clinton's disinformation on foreign adversaries, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) slams Pete Buttigieg (D., Ind.) for his previous support of Medicare for All, Buttigieg refuses to call out Hillary on Gabbard attack, and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel criticizes Democrats for pushing Medicare for All and attempting to scrap Obamacare.
Brian Stelter Covers for Hillary Clinton's Attack on Gabbard
While discussing her attacks on Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, CNN host Brian Stelter provided cover for Hillary Clinton by blaming her disinformation on foreign adversaries.
"This seems to me, Krystal, I know you are a fan of Tulsi Gabbard, but it feels like a disinformation situation where the Russians want this kind of disinformation," Stelter said on his show Reliable Sources.
Krystal Ball, HillTV's liberal news anchor, pushed back, saying, "You mean like from the Hillary Clinton side?"
"Whether you are a fan of Tulsi Gabbard or not, there is zero evidence that she is some Russian plant," Ball said, "and I think it just makes the whole Russian conspiracy thing look absurd, that it's gone this far. That you would as Hillary Clinton, a major figure in the Democratic establishment to this day, baselessly smear an American veteran who served in the Iraq war as a medic and still serves in the Hawaii Army National Guard, as being groomed by Vladimir Putin. That's disgusting and absurd."
Stelter attempted to pivot the conversation to disinformation campaigns being pushed by foreign adversaries, but Ball was not having it.
"Sure, right? It helps our adversaries, but also there's this trend now on the left, which I'm a part of the left, to smear anyone who dares to tell the truth about ugliness that's happening in America or disagree with this sort of military-industrial complex or bipartisan pro-war consensus, to smear those people as Russian plants," Ball said. "And that Hillary Clinton, someone that prominent, would take it to this level with a presidential candidate. I just think it's absurd."
During a conversation with "Campaign HQ" podcast host David Plouffe earlier this week, Clinton took a thinly veiled shot at Gabbard.
"I'm not making any predictions, but I think they've got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate," Clinton said. "She's the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far."
Klobuchar Slams Buttigieg's Past Support for Medicare for All: The Bill Has Always Said It Would Eliminate Private Insurance
Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar slammed her Democratic rival, Pete Buttigieg, for his past support of Medicare for All.
Klobuchar appeared on CNN's State of the Union, where she talked about being pressured to sign a pledge to support Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) Medicare for All bill. After reading the bill, Klobuchar said, she concluded there was a better solution than kicking people off their private insurance plans.
Host Jake Tapper asked Klobuchar whether she was suggesting that Buttigieg was not being honest about his past support of Medicare for All.
"What I'm saying is people need to look at these bills and understand what they're looking at, and I don't know if he ever looked at the bill, but the bill has always said that," Klobuchar said. "That's the bill that has been the one that Senator Sanders has led in the U.S. Senate and like I said, I think there's a better way."
Buttigieg Refuses to Call Out Clinton for Accusation Against Gabbard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOXQWs2qrRg
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg refused to call out Hillary Clinton's accusations against Tulsi Gabbard during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press.
Host Chuck Todd asked Buttigieg if he had any reactions to Clinton's comments, prompting Buttigieg to say, "what I'll say is that I'm not going to get into their dispute."
"Is it appropriate?" Todd asked.
"Well, I suppose when you become a private citizen you can say whatever you want," Buttigieg said.
"So you're comfortable with Hillary Clinton's critique of Tulsi Gabbard and how she went about it?" Todd asked.
"No, I'm not, and I'm also not going to get in the middle of it," Buttigieg said.
Rahm Emanuel Slams Medicare for All: Obamacare Was Not Meant to be 'Start All Over Again'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq80tcyR484&feature=youtu.be
Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and White House chief of staff during the Obama administration, slammed Medicare for All during an appearance on ABC's This Week.
"Democrats, on health care, the issue for Democrats is about price control and cost control. It is not about only coverage. It's about cost and we have to to rewire ourselves," Emanuel said.
Host George Stephanopoulos interjected that the Democratic presidential candidates weren't talking about this on the debate stage, prompting Emanuel to say, "No. The problem is—and here's the other thing historically, let alone policy-wise. The fact is when President Obama did the ACA, it was to be built upon, not to be pulled out and start all over again."
"This was a 100-year effort. That's what's insane about this process. Your next step should be early buy-in to Medicare for early retirees and then take on the fact that President Trump's budget has the largest cut in Medicare ever by any president," Emanuel said.