CNN's Anderson Cooper clashed with Republican strategist Scott Jennings Friday over former President Donald Trump's repeated false claims on Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
Cooper cornered the Republican on air and demanded to know if he felt Trump's campaign rhetoric was appropriate.
"Donald Trump didn't cause this hurricane," Jennings said. "He's not the current president...Joe Biden was at the beach and Kamala Harris was raising money with celebrities when this thing hit."
Cooper brought the conversation back to Trump's false claims about Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Guard responses on the ground.
"But he's basically trolling the disaster relief and recovery," said Cooper. "He's basically just making stuff up for political reasons, no?"
Jennings pointed to Trump's GoFundMe crowdsourcing campaign for victims and a recent appearance with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday.
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"He was praising Brian Kemp's actions on the recovery in Georgia," Jennings said. "Kemp thanked him for bringing—"
Cooper cut in.
"But he lied about Brian Kemp earlier," said Cooper, referencing Trump's false claim earlier this week that Kemp was unable to make contact with Biden to discuss disaster relief.
Jennings became visibly frustrated as he worked to defend the former president and his party's presidential nominee.
"I mean, it's Donald Trump," said Jennings. "He has things to say about the things that happened in this world, and it's October of a presidential election. So I — you know, I don't know what you want. What do you want him to do? Not comment on it?"
Cooper was ready with a quick retort: Just not be sleazy, basically."
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