"I don't know what the President was thinking. But I do know that he loves to bait the press and he does that almost every day," Blunt said on Sunday.
That echoed an assessment last week from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, when he told reporters in his home state that what President Trump said wasn't a real request - rather it was just President Trump talking.
"I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it," Rubio said.
Sen. @RoyBlunt echoes fellow GOP colleagues in saying he doubts President Trump's call for China to investigate Biden “was serious” https://t.co/9E9nMc4uic pic.twitter.com/RUhwzatxGI
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 6, 2019
Ranking member of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Jim Jordan on Pres. Trump's public comment that China should investigate the Bidens: "As Senator Rubio said a couple days ago, I think he's getting the press all spun up about this." https://t.co/zGLt1Eh2Zr pic.twitter.com/8kjiseRyd9
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 6, 2019
This morning in the Florida Keys, @marcorubio was asked about the President calling on China to investigate @JoeBiden - see his answer 👇@CBSMiami @MiamiHerald @alextdaugherty @MarcACaputo @PatriciaMazzei pic.twitter.com/3t1nTMWixn
— Jim DeFede (@DeFede) October 4, 2019
"I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on ABC's 'This Week.'
"You really think he was serious about thinking that China’s going to investigate the Biden family?" Jordan added.
To critics of the President, that answer is an emphatic yes.
"It’s not a joke," said Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who is running for President. "Release the transcripts and memos of Trump’s calls with China."
"Pretending it didn’t happen despite video evidence is how Republicans admit that what Trump did is indefensible," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
Here is what President Trump said last week about having Ukraine and China investigate Biden and his son:
President Trump says he wants both Ukraine and China to investigate Joe Biden and his son https://t.co/61W3znhPM1 pic.twitter.com/dhC0tXKhww
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 3, 2019
As for the President, while he stayed away from television cameras on Sunday, he got his message out on Twitter about the situation.
"The Biden family was PAID OFF, pure and simple," Mr. Trump wrote in one of a series of a tweets, where - despite Republicans saying he was joking - the President was making it clear there was corruption which needed investigation.
"The fake news must stop making excuses for something that is totally inexcusable," the President added.
One of the more interesting moments in the Sunday talk shows came from NBC's 'Meet the Press,' where host Chuck Todd mixed it up with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).
“Do you not trust the FBI?” Todd asked the Wisconsin Republican. “You don't trust the CIA?
“No, no, I don't,” said Johnson, who chairs a Senate committee dealing with homeland security. “Absolutely not.”
WATCH: @Chucktodd says @SenRonJohnson is "trying to make Donald Trump feel better" by bringing up a conspiracy theory instead of answering a question about his quote in a recent WSJ article. #MTP #IfItsSunday pic.twitter.com/1Xsq6zE3Ak
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 6, 2019
Democrats said responses from lawmakers like Johnson showed the lengths that Republicans will go to in order to support the President.
"I feel like this is a moment where patriots need to step up and save this country,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).
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