CNN’s Anderson Cooper Apologizes After Using Profanity During Heated Debate
Anderson Cooper had enough of former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu during a heated debate on Tuesday night’s (February 11) edition of Anderson Cooper 360°, leading to him cursing at his guest.
The moment came as Cooper and Sununu were discussing the Oval Office press conference held by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in which the tech billionaire detailed a list of alleged wasteful government spending uncovered by his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.
While Sununu admitted the press conference, in which Musk brought his four-year-old son along, was “surreal,” he noted, “I’ve got to tell you, I know what you’re not showing here. Musk gave seven specific examples off the top of his head of where the corruption and fraud were.”
“He was talking about a contractor that had a three-month contract. He was paid for 20 years. He was talking about welfare benefits that were being paid to someone that was technically 150 years old,” he continued.
Cooper countered this by saying Musk “doesn’t present any actual evidence” and even acknowledged to reporters Tuesday that he has been wrong before.
“He’s standing there in the Oval Office. Do you expect him to come in with 10,000 pages?” Sununu hit back, adding that Musk and his team are “being extremely transparent” and praising them for taking questions from reporters.
“It’s all on the website. It’s all out there,” Sununu stated.
As the debate heated up, Cooper referenced how some of Musk’s claims are misleading, like his comments on FEMA and spending on disaster relief funds for migrant services in New York City.
Calling Trump apologists a dick is like calling the Pope a Catholic, it’s kind of redundant. Anderson Cooper is going to be interviewing a lot of dicks for the next four years.
— Steve Redmond (@sjredmond) February 12, 2025
“But some of the details that have come out, like the $59 million spent on luxury hotels. It’s actually not…” Cooper said before Sununu interrupted him.
“You’re talking about the FEMA money that was abused for migrants. That was FEMA money for migrants. That’s okay now?” he asked.
Cooper snapped back, telling Sununu not to “put words in my mouth.”
Sununu continued to poke, asking the host, “Would you stop that? Would you stop that process?”
Having had enough, Cooper told Sununu, “Don’t be a d***. What I’m saying is, the portrayal by [Musk] is just not factually accurate.”
The segment went on for a few more minutes before Cooper eventually apologized to Sununu for cursing at him. “I was mean, I was rude to you,” he said.
Sununu didn’t seem fazed, joking with Cooper, “Are you kidding? I grew up with seven brothers and sisters. I’m a former governor. You want to know what I’m normally called? That’s one of the nicest things I’ve been called all week.”
“I don’t know why I said that,” Cooper added.
“It’s post-eight o’clock. Have some fun on CNN,” Sununu responded.
Anderson Cooper 360°, Weeknights, 8/7c, CNN
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