Interior Secretary Doug Burgum looked frustrated on Sunday when CNN host Dana Bash kept pushing back on the government’s explanation for the big problem with the newly fixed Reflecting Pool.
The conversation started when Bash asked a straightforward question.
“But the paint came off.
Why?Why did that happen?”
Burgum quickly disagreed.
“It didn’t come off,” he replied sharply.As Bash’s eyes widened, he started listing his talking points:
“There was vandalism, there were box cutters, there were people trying to destroy part of the monument.”
“If someone says they’re going to go in and vandalize it, it’s no different than if someone was…”
Knowing no one had made that claim, Bash interrupted: “Are you 100% sure the liner was vandalized?
And can you prove it?”
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Burgum responded, getting a bit flustered.
“As we drained it, we have all the photos we can see.There’s no way the industrial liner just failed on its own.”
Bash countered, “If the administration is certain, where is the evidence?”
That seemed to really get under Burgum’s skin.
“I’m not sure why you and others in the media keep trying to question” the administration’s explanation, he said.
By the end of the interview, viewers saw a typical Washington scene: an official insisting a problem is already solved, while a reporter won’t let it go until someone shows proof.
Burgum claims investigators have photos showing vandals cut the liner.
If that’s true, the administration has an easy way to settle the argument.Show them.
Great work keeping the administration on the spot, Dana Bash.
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