Eric Trump accused NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo of trying to “play coy” while debating government weaponization on Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump didn’t try to “bankrupt” his opponents in his first term.
Cuomo asked Eric Trump if it was fair to say that the Trump administration is “going after its political opponents” ahead of former FBI Director James Comey’s arraignment on Wednesday, doing “exactly what you say you oppose.” The first son said he thought it was “so ironic” that Cuomo was pushing back against the “weaponization of government” since “the very same people that were coming after us” also targeted Cuomo’s brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), before he resigned.
“They did everything they could to destroy his governorship, they did everything they could to destroy his life, they did everything they could to destroy you. I sat in that same seat! The only difference is my last name wasn’t Cuomo; my last name was Trump. They were trying to destroy my father, and by doing that, they were trying to destroy me, and they were trying to destroy the Trump organization. They were trying to take all our assets and strip our name off of every building in New York City,” Trump said on NewsNation’s Cuomo.
“You’ve been on the receiving end of the very same people that I’ve been on the receiving end of, and so to play coy with me as if this isn’t happening in the United States of America just seems ironic and foolish given what you’ve been through more so than anybody,” Trump said.
Cuomo said he wasn’t “playing coy” and asked if the Trump administration’s legal actions mirror what the Biden administration carried out against the Trump family. He also said the Trump administration “went right after” former President Joe Biden during President Trump’s first term.
Eric Trump fired back by asking if the first Trump administration tried to “bankrupt” Biden, “raid” his home, or “make up a dirty dossier,” referring to the multiple legal setbacks the Trump family faced during the past presidential election cycles. He also said his father could’ve taken legal action against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her email controversy, but didn’t since it would’ve been “totally inappropriate” to do so to a former first lady and secretary of state.
“Again, the whole Russia collusion narrative was made up, and I had to live with it for three years. I spent $400 million defending our company against something that was made up and paid for by Hillary Clinton, yet my father let it all go,” Trump said.
BYRON YORK ‘NOT SURPRISED’ BY FBI SURVEILLANCE OF GOP SENATORS
Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstructing a 2020 congressional proceeding on Wednesday morning. His two-page indictment alleges that Comey “willfully and knowingly” made a false statement during a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing by denying that he authorized any FBI official to act as an anonymous source in media reports about the bureau’s investigation into “Person 1” — widely understood to refer to Donald Trump.
If convicted, Comey could face up to five years in prison.