Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump made the bold claim on Twitter that Barack Obama had found a way to wiretap his office inside Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential election. Despite this, the White House has not provided any evidence, which was put on display by a host on CNN.
Cooper's challenge
After Donald Trump made the wiretapping allegation against Barack Obama, it quickly took over the news cycle and deflected away from other issues in the White House. Within 24 hours, a statement released by Obama denied any wrongdoing, while the mainstream media and others continued to press the White House to release proof of the claim in question.
Though the pressure has mounted on the former host of "The Apprentice," no evidence has yet been released, with even some Republicans, like House Speaker Paul Ryan, admitting that Trump's claim is likely not accurate. However, after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer continued to defend the president during his most recent briefing at the White House, CNN host Anderson Cooper made sure to comment during the March 16 edition of "Anderson Cooper 360."
Without evidence, White House stands by Pres. Trump's wiretap claim @andersoncooper is #KeepingThemHonesthttps://t.co/9yjYHBgHhC
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 17, 2017
Kicking off his show on Thursday night, Anderson Cooper went straight to the point.
"Tonight we know the president of the United States has no facts," Cooper said. "No facts to back up his startling allegation that the former President of the United States, President Obama, wiretapped him during the campaign," he continued.
Wiretapping, voter fraud and crime stats: "alternative facts" Trump has shared since taking office. https://t.co/OULwwF0nBZ @JessicaTaylor
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) March 8, 2017
"We know this tonight because bipartisan members of the Senate Intelligence Committee say they’ve seen no evidence that President Obama ordered Donald Trump's phoned tapped during the campaign,” Cooper stated.
"We know this because House Speaker Paul Ryan also says he’s seen no evidence," he noted.
Cooper doubles down
Anderson Cooper also pointed out the hypocrisy of the White House, citing Sean Spicer using a New York Times article in an attempt to defend the wiretapping claim, which prompted the CNN host to bring up an interesting point.
"Sean Spicer read a long list of media reports that he seemed to believe back up the president’s claims," Cooper said, before noting that one of the sources Spicer used was the New York Times, which is "the very paper the president of the United States has consistently referred to as 'failing' and 'fake.'" As the media holds the president's feet to the fire, it doesn't seem like the White House will be willing to back down at any point in the near future.
