RNC chairwoman tells a skeptical Alisyn Camerota that Trump was just 'trying to get to know' McCabe when he asked about his 2016 vote

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CNN)

published 24 January 2018

In an Oval Office meeting last May, President Trump asked Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, then the acting director, whom he voted for in the 2016 election, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing several current and former U.S. officials. McCabe said he did not vote, and Trump said he wasn't a fan of McCabe's wife, a one-time Democratic candidate for Virginia state Senate, the Post recounts. CNN's Alisyn Camerota asked Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel whether Trump was out of bounds, and she said no.

"Yeah, I know this is a big story, I think it's just a conversation," McDaniel said. Camerota asked if it was an inappropriate question. "I don't know," McDaniel said. "I ask people who they vote for sometimes, I think it's just trying to get to know somebody. I don't think the intentions are as bad as are being put out." Trump is "certainly not going around to every single FBI agent and saying, 'Did you vote for me?'" she added. "This is a president who's just getting to know people, and that's part of those conversations." Camerota did not look like she was buying it.

Trump actually has been publicly hammering the FBI about personal text messages between an FBI agent and an FBI attorney that some of his supporters in and outside of Congress suggest shows political bias. He has also been urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to push FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire McCabe, prompting Wray to threaten to resign, Axios reports. In any case, if you ever find yourself at a party with McDaniel, be prepared for some awkward icebreakers.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.