Stefanik slams NBC as biased, calls Jan. 6 prisoners ‘hostages’
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Sunday blasted "biased media" and said she was concerned about "the treatment of January 6th hostages," echoing former President Trump's remarks on the attack on the Capitol.
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker played a video of Stefanik speaking on the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, when she stated that "violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable," adding that "it is anti-American and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Welker also pointed out that Trump referred to Jan. 6 in the past as a "beautiful day."
In response, Stefanik, a key Trump ally, said only one excerpt from her speech was played, which she said is "typical for NBC and the biased media."
"Well, first of all, Kristen, as typical for NBC and the biased media, you played one excerpt of my speech," she said. "I stand by my comments that I made on the House floor. I stood up for election integrity, and I challenged and objected to the certification of the state of Pennsylvania because of the unconstitutional overreach."
She also echoed remarks Trump made this weekend during a campaign in Iowa Saturday, where he labeled those who have been jailed for participating in the riot as "hostages."
"I have concerns about the treatment of January 6th hostages," Stefanik told NBC when asked if those who stormed the Capitol should be held responsible to the full extent of the law. "We have a rule in Congress of oversight over our treatments of prisoners. And I believe that we're seeing the weaponization of the federal government against not just President Trump, but we're seeing it against conservatives."
"If you go back and play the full speech I gave on the House floor, I condemn the violence just like I condemned the violence of the BLM [Black Lives Matter] riots," she later added.
It isn't the first time Trump referred to those jailed for storming the Capitol as "hostages," also referring to them as such during a rally in Texas in November.