Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, sparred with CNN host Chris Cuomo on Friday night, at one point claiming he was “not welcome” on the network.
Schlapp appeared on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” to discuss the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) hosted by his organization in Dallas this year.
In the interview, Cuomo pressed the conservative activist over CPAC’s message and whether it served to promote former President Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Schlapp argued in the interview that signatures on mail-in ballots had not been verified in Nevada and Georgia, claims that have been debunked by The Associated Press and USA Today.
“Why are you making CPAC about the ‘big lie’ and not all the other things you could argue?” Cuomo asked during the interview.
“The title and the theme of CPAC is ‘America UnCanceled,'” the organizer responded.
“But what are you canceling, the truth?” Cuomo interjected.
“It’s a nice little slight, but let me talk,” Schlapp fired back.
The conservative activist pointed to backlash against those pushing to open up schools and religious institutions during the pandemic, saying he and others advocating for such measures “get canceled” on social media.
“You don’t get canceled,” Schlapp said. “The rest of us get canceled all the time.”
Cuomo pointed out that many restrictions were put in place by individual states, after which Schlapp returned to the “America UnCanceled” theme.
“You don’t feel canceled because you never are. We feel canceled because we constantly are. Now, you’ve — you’ve broken the model because you’ve had me on CNN. People like me don’t get on CNN anymore.”
“Matt, you’re always welcome here to make the case —” Cuomo said.
“That’s not true! It’s not true. I’m not welcome at CNN, and you know that,” Schlapp said.
“Where are you right now? What do you think CNN is? The Cuomo News Network? You’re on CNN right now, brother,” Cuomo said.