CNBC host Joe Kernen dismantled the argument from a Democrat senator against the mishandling of defense intelligence by members of the Trump administration.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) made his comments while appearing on “Squawk Box” on Friday. He said that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should resign over the embarrassing intelligence breach on the app Signal.
‘You’re going to complain about a splinter in one eye and ignore a 2×4 in the other eye.’
Kernen pointed out that Coons had a double standard when it came to mistakes made under the former Biden administration by Lloyd Austin, the prior defense secretary.
“Did you call for Lloyd Austin’s resignation? Not only did we lose 13 service members, but we left $70 billion worth of equipment that fell into the hands of the Taliban,” said Kernen about former President Joe Biden’s botched exit from Afghanistan.
“Couple of years later, he was out of pocket for two weeks and didn’t tell the White House. Did you ask for him to resign at this point?” Kernen asked. “Are you actually asking for Hegseth or Waltz to resign when you didn’t ask for Lloyd Austin to resign?”
“There’s nothing that Lloyd Austin did by getting health care treatment,” Coons responded.
“OK, what about Afghanistan?” Kernen interrupted, and they began to talk over each other.
“The fact the secretary of defense was getting health care is fundamentally different from the secretary of defense sharing on an unsecured platform attack plans,” said Coons.
Kernen pointed out that the attack on the Houthis was a success, unlike the exit from Afghanistan.
“I am not saying that the attack on the Houthis was not a success,” Coons replied. “I am saying that he demonstrably violated a directive that was just shared in the Pentagon about ‘don’t use Signal for classified information.’ It is not reliably secure. And one of those folks in that group chat was in Russia!”
Kernen and Coons spoke over each other until Kernen got Coons to admit the Afghanistan exit was a disaster.
“The execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan was badly handled, and the loss of those 13 Marines was a tragedy,” Coons allowed.
“Should you have asked for Lloyd Austin’s resignation from that?” Kernen pressed.
Co-host Rebecca Quick interjected to accuse Kernen of “whataboutism” in the debate.
“The point is you’re going to complain about a splinter in one eye and ignore a 2×4 in the other eye,” Kernen said.
“Joe, the career of any military officer would not survive what just happened, and it shows a blindness to concerns about informational and operational security,” Coons continued.
The senator ended the segment by telling Kernen he appreciated his scriptural reference.
President Donald Trump has resisted calls from the left, and even on the right, for Waltz and Hegseth to resign over the debacle. Waltz has said that he takes full responsibility for accidentally allowing Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg onto the Signal thread.
The debate can be viewed on social media, where it was widely shared.
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