Hugh Hewitt: “Fact-Checking Doesn't Matter” In Republican Debates

Alisyn Camerota: “You Said Fact-Checking Doesn't Matter. Truer Words During This Election Probably Never Spoken”

From the January 15 edition of CNN's New Day:

Video file

JEFFREY LORD: One last thing about Governor Christie. I was really surprised he denied that he had supported Judge Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. I happened to have written a column about this last week for The American Spectator. He said if he were President Obama, he wouldn't have appointed her, but after listening to her testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was all for her. So in fact, Marco Rubio was correct about that.

ALISYN CAMEROTA (HOST): I was going to end it there but Michael I see you nodding. So did he catch Cruz in some flip-flops?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH: You know, there's a journalist in New Jersey named Matt Katz who I think knows more, has covered more about Chris Christie than anybody else. In the midst of the debate I tweeted at him last night not relative to Justice Sotomayor but relative to Planned Parenthood because I wanted to be reminded of the facts. Chris Christie flat out denies having written a check to Planned Parenthood. Go back and look at The Star-Ledger. They've written exhaustively on the subject. I think he'd do better, if he frankly said, 'yes, at one point in my life, that was my perspective. I changed over time, here's why.' But to say, 'they misquoted me,' the fact-checkers are going to have their work to do.

CAMEROTA: Hugh, so that, so Chris Christie was fact-checked, that's true, last night. What about when Marco Rubio went down that sort of litany of things that he said Ted Cruz had flip-flopped his positions on?

HUGH HEWITT: Using my boxing analogy, in the 15th round Marco Rubio laid one on Ted Cruz. But here's the deal about fact-checkers. Nick Kristof, terrific columnist for The New York Times, tweeted out that Donald Trump said, in fact, in his hearing that he wanted a 45 percent tariff. Fact-checking doesn't matter in these things. What matters is personality and aura and your command presence and of all those two, the best command presence last night was Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. And I keep marveling at how Donald Trump can dominate a television screen. He reaches through the screen sometimes and you know you're back on Celebrity Apprentice. It's an amazing skill set. And so whether or not he said 45 percent or not, or whether or not Chris Christie said, I like Alisyn Sotomayor, I would vote for her, or whether or not Ted Cruz said this or that on H1B visas, none of that stuff matters when you go to vote. What matters is who can beat Hillary Clinton. That's the bottom line for Republican voters. My friends here, both are going to support, I assume, Jeffrey is, I'm not sure about Michael, we'll let Michael decide for himself, I think he might have gone over to the dark side, but we'll decide who's going to vote -- who can beat Hillary Clinton and right now, that's open question.

CAMEROTA: Fact-checking doesn't matter. Well hold, we have to --

SMERCONISH: Well Hugh, when somebody says the facts don't matter --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SMERCONISH: -- if someone says the facts don't matter, I would suggest they're the one who went to the dark side.

HEWITT: I didn't say that. I said fact-checkers don't matter.

CAMEROTA: Right, you said fact-checking doesn't matter. Truer words during this election probably never spoken.

Previously:

Post-Debate Fact Checks Call Out Republican Candidates For False Claims On Immigration And Refugees

Media Call Out GOP Candidates' Misleading And False Debate Claims About Iran Nuclear Agreement

CNN's Alisyn Camerota Calls Out Carly Fiorina On Pattern Of Inaccurate Debate Answers