Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus — a daytime cable television staple — is doing his best to tamp down talk of a Republican “war on women.”
But he’s also come across as a prickly spokesman for the party, lobbing personal jabs at the news anchors who interview him.
A Republican source told TPM that it’s the “RNC’s job to push back on media who use their microphone to push Democratic talking points.”
Let’s take a look at the evidence.
On April 5, Priebus got testy with CNN’s Carol Costello, who asked him to defend the Republican position that President Obama’s economic policies have failed. The economy continues to add jobs and the auto industry had a banner month in March, Costello said.
“Well, I know how you’re going to vote, Carol, but the reality is that the American people don’t feel better off today than they were three or four years ago,” Priebus responded.
Later, when Costello urged him to get off his talking points, Priebus accused her of reciting Democratic talking points.
Costello told TPM that “it was clear that Priebus was trying to goad me into a fight. I made the right decision not to engage.”
She didn’t speak with the RNC or Priebus after the interview.
On Wednesday, Priebus appeared on MSNBC to discuss the so-called “war on women” Democrats accuse Republicans of waging.
MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts asked Priebus how he can call the “war on women” a “fiction” when dozens of anti-abortion laws have appeared in state legislatures across the U.S. in the past year.
“You and I are never going to be on the same page as long as you believe that if you’re pro-life, you’re anti-women,” Priebus said. “You and I are never going to be on the same page, because I happen to believe that life begins at conception and you don’t…”
“This is not about what I believe or what I don’t believe,” Roberts responded. “This is about me asking you questions about the Republican National Committee and your leadership.”
“I don’t buy that,” Priebus said. “Because I don’t buy your argument. I happen to believe that you can be pro-women and pro-life. You don’t. That’s the problem, Thomas.”
MSNBC declined to comment on the interview, saying it speaks for itself.
The RNC in a statement to TPM said: “Besides raising money to be competitive with Obama’s billion dollar campaign, the chairman’s job is to aggressively explain to voters how Republicans are going to win in November.”
Watch Priebus’ appearances:
