It’s been a rough few weeks for CBS News’ Margaret Brennan. Host of “Face the Nation,” she faced off against JD Vance last Sunday only to receive a rhetorical beatdown from the vice president, who was far more knowledgeable and prepared than she was. Not surprisingly, Brennan didn’t learn her lesson, and it was up to Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) to keep the ball rolling a week later.
ALSO SEE: Margaret Brennan’s Mask-Off Moment During Her JD Vance Interview
Mast, who lost his legs serving in Afghanistan, was speaking about waste on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the State Department when Brennan interrupted to demand evidence.
MAST: Purging of people throughout the State Department, other agencies, where we’re freezing aid, these are all very important and necessary steps to make sure that we secure America, and we’re going to support that.
BRENNAN: I’m sorry, can I follow up on what you just said there?
MAST: Please do
BRENNAN: You want to authorize purging of State Department personnel, what does that mean exactly?
MAST: Well, if you want to take a look at the State Department where DEI has been a priority of diplomacy in many accounts I can give you hundreds of examples…
BRENNAN: What proof do you have of that?Â
You can hear the haughty disgust in her voice as she asks, “What does that mean exactly,” as if Mast saying he wants to help purge the State Department is ambiguous. What he means by that, Margaret, is exactly what he said. Democrats have long believed they get a veto over the will of American voters by controlling various bureaucracies that wield power over their lives. Brennan never once questioned former President Joe Biden’s restructuring of the State Department, yet she acts like it’s a scandal for President Donald Trump to staff it as he sees fit.
When Mast then notes that State Department officials have prioritized DEI over effective diplomacy, Brennan thinks she’s laying a trap by asking for “proof.” Instead, he turns the table on her, bringing the receipts by listing specific grants and programs that went to things like drag shows and other LGBTQ initiatives.
MAST: Sure. Let’s list them off. Half a million dollars to expand atheism in Nepal. $50,000 to do, let’s see, a transgender opera in Columbia. $47,000 dollars to do an LGBTQ trans comic book in Peru. $20,000 a pop to do drag shows in Ecuador. Shall I continue with more examples of where DEI was the priority?
To be sure, that’s just a tiny sampling of all the left-wing insanity the State Department has been spending money on in the name of “diversity.” There were even embassies during the Biden administration flying the so-called “Pride-Progress” flag as a way to push transgender ideology on the world. So yeah, as Mast says, the priorities have been all out of whack, and the results have been predictable, with America’s stature diminished and chaos developing around the globe. But even if that weren’t the result, my taxpayer dollars should not be going to such idiocy.
With that said, when Mast gave specific examples, Brennan sprinted to move the goalposts.
BRENNAN: Oh, it certainly seems like there could be a review of things. Foreign aid as you know is less than one percent of the entire federal budget so we’re talking small amounts of money by comparison.
That is the laziest argument imaginable. Just because something represents a relatively small percentage of government spending does not mean that the country should keep wasting money on drag shows in Ecuador and the like. I don’t care if it’s a quarter of a percent of government spending, we shouldn’t be spending it.
Brennan continues to show how much of an intellectual lightweight she is. You’d think she’d start preparing better for these interviews, but instead, she keeps getting caught off guard when her questions are completely dismantled. Credit to Mast as well for having the hard data ready to go. As I’ve said many times, the number one rule in interacting with the mainstream press is to never let them dictate the premise of any exchange.
