Republican Arizona Sen. Martha McSally called CNN’s Manu Raju a “liberal hack” and when the network demanded an apology, she decided to fundraise off of the insult instead.
Within one hour of the confrontation between media and politician, McSally reportedly bought the domain name “liberalhack.com,” which automatically redirected to her campaign website. (RELATED: Republican Sen. Martha McSally Calls CNN Reporter Manu Raju ‘A Liberal Hack’)
A little insight into how calculated this was.
McSally attacked Manu in the 10am hour. She had registered the domain name “https://t.co/YQW3ySFPna” by the 11am hour.
(16:24 UTC = 11:24 EST) pic.twitter.com/TkBHt8S2BZ
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 17, 2020
In addition, posted for sale on McSally’s campaign website, just hours after the exchange, was a new t-shirt that read, “you’re a liberal hack, buddy.” The t-shirt was available for a minimum donation of $35.
NEW SHIRT!! ????
I’m in the Senate to fight for all Arizonans, not play politics and games with the liberal hacks of the left-wing media! https://t.co/tNbKJa49JN
— McSally For Senate (@MarthaMcSally) January 17, 2020
The spat began when McSally, approached by Raju at the Capitol, refused to answer questions and told him that he was “a liberal hack.”
Sen. Martha McSally, a Republican facing a difficult election race, lashed out when I asked if she would consider new evidence as part of the Senate trial. “You’re a liberal hack – I’m not talking to you. You’re a liberal hack.” She then walked into a hearing room.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 16, 2020
McSally responded to Raju’s tweet with video of the exchange.
A) you are.
B) here’s the video. https://t.co/zVgk9pBhdf pic.twitter.com/cfFdotLjFK— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) January 16, 2020
Raju’s CNN colleague Anderson Cooper lashed out at McSally on his own broadcast, adding her to the “ridicu-list.”
Sen. Martha McSally called CNN’s Manu Raju a “liberal hack” when he asked her about considering new evidence for President Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. So @AndersonCooper is placing her on the #RidicuList https://t.co/Rnazk3swlJ pic.twitter.com/FgCW3L0CF5
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 17, 2020
McSally responded to criticism during a Thursday evening appearance with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, accusing CNN reporters across the board of being biased.
“I’m a fighter pilot, I called it like it is,” she laughed.
“I’m a fighter pilot! I called it like it is!”
Sen. Martha McSally scorches CNN — in a fun interview with Laura Ingraham — for their hypocrisy, doubling down on her criticism of Manu Raju, while them for working on cahoots with the DNC. pic.twitter.com/GD452PXpYk
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) January 17, 2020
McSally also responded to Wolf Blitzer’s call for an apology, saying, “CNN should probably file FEC reports for their DNC contributions.”
“CNN should probably file FEC reports for their DNC contributions.” — Martha McSally responding to CNN’s demand that she apologize for pointing out their hackery.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 17, 2020