NEW YORK (AP) — CNN anchor Anderson Cooper dubbed an aide to President Donald Trump “the Hungarian Don Rickles” following an insult-laden exchange on the network.
On Cooper’s show Wednesday, White House aide Sebastian Gorka faced questions about last summer’s meeting held by the president’s son with a Russian woman who promised to help the Trump campaign with damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Echoing his boss’ criticisms, Gorka called CNN “fake news” while mocking Cooper’s ratings; the CNN host said he was using insults to avoid answering questions.
Talking about the interview later, Cooper said the insults were Gorka’s shtick and that he doesn’t worry about them. His reference to “the Hungarian Don Rickles” recalled the late comedian, who would target audience members with biting remarks.
