CNN defends new contributor Sean Duffy while anchors decry his ‘anti-immigrant bigotry’

A CNN executive on Tuesday defended new political commentator Sean Duffy after several of the network’s anchors and commentators criticized the former Republican congressman’s on-air remarks earlier that day as “anti-immigrant” and “appalling.”

In an interview with POLITICO, CNN vice president Rebecca Kutler said the network “is out there reporting from all over the country and from all points of view” and that “having people who support the president’s policies is part of that.”

Kutler said that Duffy, who started on the network on Oct. 20, was elected to Congress five times from Wisconsin and can help “share with our audience what’s important to the voters he’s represented and how that will impact the 2020 election.”

Duffy hasn’t come under fire for his take on where Wisconsin voters are leaning, but for his defense of President Donald Trump’s role in the Ukraine scandal, which has included promoting a debunked conspiracy theory that ran counter to CNN’s own reporting.

In his first appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Duffy suggested there’s a missing Democratic National Committee server that may be in Ukraine, an unfounded claim that two CNN contributors, Jen Psaki and Amanda Carpenter, rebutted.

Kutler noted the on-air pushback to Duffy and said that “anyone watching the segment was not confused what CNN’s reporting was.”

The next day, Duffy suggested on CNN’s “New Day” that a missing DNC server is “at the heart of the Russia investigation.” Anchor Alisyn Camerota responded, “That’s a conspiracy theory,” a point Duffy appeared to concede.

CNN built a stable of pro-Trump pundits, like Jeffrey Lord, Kayleigh McEnany, and Corey Lewandowski, during the 2016 election as several of its conservative commentators, and other leading Republican voices, were critical of his candidacy. After they departed, CNN continued adding supportive commentators during Trump’s presidency, with Duffy the most recent.

“It is hard to find people who will come on and support the president’s point of view,” CNN chief Jeff Zucker said at the network’s “Citizen” conference last Thursday. “We need these voices.”

While few Republican Senators have been willing to appear on television to defend Trump pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate the Bidens, Duffy has become a go-to supporter and lightning rod for controversy.

On Tuesday’s “New Day,” Duffy suggested Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council official and decorated U.S. military veteran who testified that he believed Trump had undermined national security on the infamous Ukraine call, might be loyal to the Ukraine, a country he left with his family at age three.

"It seems very clear that he is incredibly concerned about Ukrainian defense. I don't know that he's concerned about American policy,” said Duffy, who suggested Vindman has an “affinity” for his homeland of Ukraine.

CNN anchor John Berman challenged Duffy, asking whether he believes Vindman is looking out for America first. “I don’t know,” Duffy replied. (Duffy later tweeted that Vindman is “an American war hero,” but it’s Trump "who sets the policy").

Later on “New Day,” CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that “with all due respect to our new contributor, former Congressman Duffy,” his remarks were “insanity, and frankly, anti-immigrant bigotry."

In the afternoon, anchor Brianna Keilar ripped Duffy for his “anti-immigrant bigotry.”

“It’s an odd questioning of patriotism coming from Sean Duffy, the guy who spent part of his 20s on MTV’s 'The Real World' and ‘Real World/Road Rules Challenge’ while Alexander Vindman spent his on foreign deployments, including one to Iraq where he earned a Purple Heart after he was injured by a roadside bomb,” Keilar said. (Duffy appeared on Real World: Boston in 1997 and later on the reality competition show.)

Also, CNN editor-at-large Chris Cillizza wrote in an online article how it’s “appalling” how some “Republicans are trying to do to discredit Vindman,” citing Duffy’s appearance on CNN and smears from Fox News hosts and guests.

Regarding Duffy’s comments, Kutler pointed out that Berman, Toobin, and Keilar forcefully pushed back on air. “I think our air speaks for itself,” she said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Alisyn Camerota's name.