Politics

Paul Ryan Shuts Down CBS Reporter — ‘We’re Not Here To Debate…’ [VIDEO]

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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House Speaker Paul Ryan shut down CBS congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes after she tried to debate President Trump’s immigration ban during House Republicans’ Tuesday press conference.

Paul Ryan (Getty Images)

Paul Ryan (Getty Images)

“Mr. Speaker, when you do a cost benefit analysis, people from these countries haven’t carried out deadly terrorist attacks here in the United States since 9/11,” Cordes first posed to the Wisconsin Republican. “You have a lot of military experts, intelligence experts warning that this is going to serve as a recruiting tool for ISIS. Are you sure that this is going to make America more safe, not less safe?”

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Ryan answered that he agrees “the rhetoric surrounding this could be used as a recruiting tool, and I think that’s dangerous.”

The House Speaker began to explain that the seven countries named in the ban were actually designated as high-risk by the Obama administration before Cordes interrupted him.

“But they weren’t calling for a ban,” she shot back at Ryan.

The Speaker reiterated that “these countries were named by the Obama administration” and pointed to “an issue with respect to terrorists trying to infiltrate our refugee population,” before Cordes cut him off a second time.

Paul Ryan (Getty Images)

Paul Ryan (Getty Images)

“But they haven’t been able to, partly because our vetting is so strenuous,” she claimed, which clearly struck a nerve with the highest ranking House Republican.

“We’re not here to debate,” he told Cordes. “We’re here to answer your questions.”

“There is nothing wrong with taking a pause and making sure we have the proper vetting standards in place so that we do not have a problem like France had with Paris.”

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