Fox News host cuts off Jaime Harrison after interview veers off track
Key Takeaways
- •Jaime Harrison said he was invited to discuss the South Carolina Republican primary, but the conversation instead turned to the Democratic Socialists of America.
- •Will Cain raised questions about the DSA’s influence on Senate primaries and possible links to activists accused of antisemitism.
- •Harrison accused the show of being disingenuous and said he was not a member of the DSA.
- •Cain ended the interview after the exchange became increasingly heated.
- •Cain later told viewers he would not normally book the former head of the DNC to discuss a Republican primary and apologized if the topic had been miscommunicated.
An interview with former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison on Fox News' "The Will Cain Show" went off the rails Tuesday evening after Harrison accused host Will Cain of inviting him on under false pretenses.
Harrison appeared taken aback when Cain questioned him about the influence of the Democratic Socialists of America on Senate primaries and possible ties to activists accused of antisemitism. Harrison said that was not the subject he had been told would be discussed.
"Donald Trump literally sat down for dinner with Nick Fuentes, right?" Harrison said. "A white nationalist, antisemitic, Holocaust denier. Do you believe that Nick Fuentes represents every Republican?"
Cain responded while Harrison continued trying to answer.
"Okay. It's not the first time I've heard this analogy in vogue, Jaime," Cain said. "Hold on. That's inflammatory, and I'm going to respond to it so this conversation stays honest ... you have to have the intellectual consistency and honesty to distinguish a dinner from a Senate candidate."
The exchange escalated, and Cain soon ended the interview.
"What's inflammatory is this," Harrison said. "You invite somebody to come on your show to talk about the South Carolina Republican primary, and you don't even talk about the South Carolina Republican primary! This is the reason why you guys are disingenuous. Don't invite me to come on your show to talk about the South Carolina Republican primary when you spent all your time talking about DSA, which I’m not even a member of! So if you want to talk about the DSA, invite somebody from the DSA."
"Jaime, you can't hear me while you're talking!" Cain said as Harrison kept speaking. "If my staff told you we were talking about the Senate Republican primary, then I apologize. I was under no pretense that I would be talking to you about a Republican primary. All right, I'm going to have to cut you off."
Cain then addressed the audience after Harrison's microphone and camera were cut.
"I would never book the former head of the DNC to talk about a Republican primary," he said. "What expertise or insight could I possibly hope? ... If that was communicated incorrectly to Jaime Harrison, my apologies to him and his staff."
