'It's about character!' CNBC panel erupts over 'election deniers' taking control of Congress
07 November 2022
A CNBC discussion about the 2022 midterm elections turned into a disagreement about deniers of the 2020 election.
During an interview on Monday, Fox Broadcasting Company founder Barry Diller told CNBC that Republican control of Congress was not likely to impact the economy or crime.
"This is supposedly an election now about the economy," Diller said.
"Well, business is on the ballot, Barry!" host Joe Kernen shouted. "As you'll see tomorrow night!"
"I don't think it's about it at all," Diller continued. "I think it's about character."
"The only effect that will be if that happens and that you have 170 or whatever deniers of the previous election, I think that's about character," he remarked. "And that I think is what I think is going to be revealed tomorrow."
"Character is in the eye of the beholder," Kernen grumbled.
"You have people whose platform is that it was a fraud," Diller said.
"Stacey Abrams," Kernen observed sarcastically.
"Please," Diller replied.
"I don't know which denier you're talking about," Kernen claimed.
Co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin pointed out that Democrats had questioned the elections "in a totally different way."
"In your view!" Kernen told Sorkin.
"No, not in my view, in just reality," Sorkin shot back.
"To focus on deniers is not going to help," Kernen insisted.
"It is what it says about character," Diller said.
"What if for five years, the office of the vice presidency was for sale with foreign interests?" Kernen posited. "Is that character for you? Talking about Hunter, talking about Burisma, I'm talking about China."
"If you just think about what happened out of this election," Diller noted, pointing to the election deniers.
"Barry, if it was that important, the American people — you should win in a landslide tomorrow, Democrats," Kernen admitted. "It's not going to."
Watch the video below from CNBC.