'I am insulted!' Retired general clashes with GOP senator over MAGA 'fascism'

Retired Major General Randy Manner pushed back on Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) after he complained about President-elect Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters being called fascists.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Trump's mass deportation plans on Tuesday, Kennedy accused Manner of wanting "open borders."

"It makes you angry that most Americans don't believe in open borders, doesn't it?" the senator asked.

"Not in the slightest, sir," Manner replied.

Kennedy took issue with a statement Manner made to CNN on Oct. 14.

"President Trump is not like any sane leader. I'm very proud of General Milley for saying that President Trump is a total fascist," Kennedy recalled Manner saying. "The challenge is because most MAGA Republicans, they don't understand what fascism is. The reality is that they are, in fact, fascists themselves."

"Did I read that accurately?" the senator pressed.

"Senator, I am happy to discuss my personal perspectives with you separately at any time," the general said. "That's not the purpose of the hearing today."

"You think you're smarter than the American people, don't you?" Kennedy wondered.

"Absolutely not, senator," Manner stated. "I am here to discuss the use of the military as part of this mass deportation."

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"You think you're more virtuous than the American people, don't you, general?" Kennedy remarked.

"Senator, I am insulted by your comment," Manner insisted. "Senator, for 35 years, I served my country with absolute honor and distinction, and I will continue to do so."

Watch the video below from the Senate Judiciary Committee.