‘You’re the arsonist here’: heated debate between NBC presenter, Republican senator

“You are the arsonist here,” Todd told Johnson as he discussed battles over electoral fraud. “President Trump is the arsonist here. You started this fire and now you’re saying wow, look at that, oh my God, all these people believe what we said to them because you didn’t have the courage to tell the truth that this election it was fair. “

Johnson responded by accusing the mainstream media of working to overthrow Trump throughout his administration. “This fire started in, you know, January 2017,” he said.

Both told each other that they “got tired” of these discussions, but then quickly returned to them.

Saying that Johnson has spent “the past two years carrying a lot of crazy conspiratorial water for President Trump,” Todd asked Johnson if his efforts to fight the certification of Electoral College results were “a cynical political ploy”.

“I’m trying to be transparent,” Johnson said, before citing an unverified Nevada allegation of electoral fraud.

“Just because you have someone saying it doesn’t mean it’s true,” Todd told him, adding later, “You have to ask yourself, when you tell people a million times that something was stolen or that something was fraud and then they believe, I think you need to look in the mirror. “

Johnson went back to attacking the media: “I didn’t criticize the Democrats when they talked about possible hacking of electronic voting machines, but now it’s quackery and conspiracy theory. That’s the problem, Chuck. There’s a double standard, and we” I’m not being transparent and dismissing the concerns of tens of millions of Americans. Again, I didn’t light this fire. This fire was lit over four years ago and … you destroyed the credibility of the media for your prejudice. “

Todd concluded by thanking Johnson for having the courage to be interviewed. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate that,” he said.