Republican Representative Jason Smith from Missouri made the claim on Wednesday that President Joe Biden was improperly involved with his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings. However, his assertion was quickly contested by an NBC reporter who asked a simple, yet crucial, question.
Smith, who serves as the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was speaking at a press conference regarding the committee’s investigation into the president and his family. He stated that the committee had gathered over 700 pages of examples that should raise concerns.
However, the NBC reporter, Ryan Nobles, raised a valid point about the timing of the alleged evidence. He questioned the relevance of a WhatsApp message that Hunter Biden supposedly sent in 2017, when Donald Trump was president and Joe Biden had not yet announced his presidential run for 2020.
“If he’s not the president or the vice president at that time, where’s the wrongdoing? He wasn’t even a candidate for president at that time,” Nobles asked.
Despite Nobles’ correct assessment, Smith falsely claimed that Joe Biden was a candidate for president in 2017. (Joe Biden actually announced his candidacy in 2019.)
Smith then questioned Nobles’ credibility, asking which news organization he represented. When Nobles replied that he worked for NBC, Smith responded with, “So, apparently you’ll never believe us.”
Nobles clarified that his question was not about disbelief, but rather about seeking the truth. He asked, “The first WhatsApp message you put up – how does that demonstrate that there was some sort of political influence being exerted if, at that time, Joe Biden was not a political figure or elected official?”
Smith became defensive and refused to address Nobles’ question directly. Nobles pointed out that Smith had presented the WhatsApp message as evidence and questioned its significance. Smith deflected the question, and Nobles insisted on an explanation.
Realizing he couldn’t provide a satisfactory response, Smith abruptly ended the press conference, saying, “I’ll take the next question.”
The exchange, which can be watched below, garnered attention and prompted discussions about the critical thinking skills of GOP politicians.
Overall, Smith’s attempt to implicate President Biden in wrongdoing was undermined by a reporter who sought facts and clarification.
Twitter users shared their thoughts on the incident, highlighting the tendency of some Republican politicians to struggle with critical thinking when faced with challenging questions.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
