Former Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank boasted to Daily Caller reporter Kay Smythe that he is on the board of Signature Bank, which collapsed Sunday.
The New York-based Signature Bank collapsed over the weekend and was bailed out by the new Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP). Its demise purportedly occurred due to cryptocurrency, and fell two days after California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Smythe debated Frank during a March 4 Newsmax debate about the U.S. Department of Energy concluding COVID-19 was likely caused by a lab leak, and President Joe Biden’s handling of China. The Daily Caller reporter told Frank point-blank that he no longer has a career and does not understand why his opinion matters.
“First of all, Kay’s denigration of being on television seems to be a bit self-wounding,” Frank said.
“No, I was denigrating you and your career, sorry, I don’t want to disrespect [Newsmax host] Rita [Cosby],” Smythe interjected.
“She makes personal attacks, she interrupts the response, I am on a bank board, I am writing a book, I am doing other things in my retirement and she denigrates being on television,” he said. (RELATED: Biden Tries To Pin Bank Collapse On Trump)
Frank also helped author the Dodd-Frank Act, passed in 2010, that intended to safeguard against the future bank crises following the 2008 Great Recession. He has served on the board since June 2015 and has received over $1 million from the bank as of 2018.
Two weeks ago I got yelled at for going absolutely ballistic on live TV at #BarneyFrank coz I was so sick of him spewing dangerous propaganda. To defend his relevance in the world, he said “I’m on the board of a bank!!”
Well… pic.twitter.com/xfccO2ClHB
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) March 13, 2023
Smythe said Wednesday she “felt horrible” about her exchange with Frank.
“I felt horrible after this happened. Democrat ignorance of China is a huge threat to America, and it made me lose it on live TV. I called friends and fam as I was embarrassed and ashamed by my outburst I do not feel the same way today,” she said.
“Oh, and everyone who tweeted me after to yell about my behavior… I should have said this sooner but I don’t give a shit about your opinions. Mean words are warranted when someone is holding up an establishment destroying your lives. Sure, I could have been more diplomatic and mature… but I wasn’t. And everything happens for a reason.”