Vulnerable House Republican melts down on reporters at campaign kickoff

The re-election campaign kickoff for Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) got off to a rocky start — and ended with her yelling “fake news” at local journalists.

A reporter asked Tenney about her inflammatory remark in a recent radio interview that “so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats.”

In a meandering response, Tenney replied, “The most false — the false statements every day, the media, the Democrats. What are they doing? Turn on the media. The drumbeat every single day is that it’s Republicans, Republicans, Republicans, the NRA. The Republicans cause these things to happen.”

As the reporter continued to press her, she lost her temper. “Fake news,” she shouted. “I answered your question every which way. It is fake news.” And the interview ended.

According to Roll Call, Tenney is one of the ten most vulnerable House incumbents. She faces a powerful Democratic opponent in state Sen. Anthony Brindisi, who has impressively outfundraised her. Brindisi has called Tenney’s remarks “grotesque” and says he hopes “she can find the light.”

In the recent interview (watch the full clip here), Tenney doubled down on her attacks against Democrats — even though many news sites resoundingly debunked her. She also called the Russia story a “complete farce” and said the resistance uses “vicious rhetoric.”

But the person perpetuating fake news in this discussion was Claudia Tenney. She peddled a viral, mean-spirited internet hoax and, when confronted by journalists, blamed them for her own dishonesty.

Voters in New York deserve facts and civility from their elected officials, and Tenney offers neither.