MAGA Loyalists Who Have Clashed With CBS News' Margaret Brennan

CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan's reputation took a big hit after Marco Rubio appeared on "Face the Nation" in February 2025. In a heated back-and-forth about Vice President JD Vance's recent, highly controversial speech in Munich, Germany, Brennan pointed out, "He was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide." However, the secretary of state interrupted her to note that free speech did not exist in Nazi Germany. The ensuing backlash even caught the attention of Vance himself, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to write, "This is a crazy exchange. Does the media really think the holocaust was caused by free speech?" Even White House Communications Director Steven Cheung shared an X post to slam the seasoned news anchor for her remarks. Fox News hosts weren't far behind with their criticisms either, with Greg Gutfeld arguing that Brennan had "weaponized stupidity" during an episode of "The Five," (via Newsweek). 

Meanwhile, during an episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," the eponymous host stated that the sole reason politicians agreed to sit down with Brennan was that she made them seem infinitely smarter. Notably, in a chat with Newsweek, former CNN correspondent Frank Sesno offered an interesting perspective on all of the drama that Brennan had generated with several major MAGA supporters. "That's a play straight out of the modern political handbook: discredit the journalist, shift the focus, and make the media the story rather than the issue being discussed," the director of George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs explained. Since Brennan has clashed with numerous people who are loyal to Donald Trump over the years, she is probably all too familiar with their tactics.

An initial edition of Kristi Noem's 2024 memoir "No Going Back" garnered massive controversy because the politician falsely claimed that she had met with Kim Jong Un. Embarrassingly, the anecdote didn't just end with the mention of the meeting, as the former South Dakota governor also wondered whether the North Korean leader incorrectly perceived her as weak. When Margaret Brennan raised the awkward gaffe during Noem's May 2024 appearance on "Face the Nation," she quickly grew defensive. Although the CBS News anchor asked President Donald Trump's controversial homeland security secretary if she had ever met Kim Jong Un, she repeatedly dodged the question, insisting that she did not want to delve into her chats with world leaders in her book. 

Brennan also wondered how the incorrect anecdote had flown under Noem's radar while she was recording the audiobook for her memoir. After once again reiterating that she had rectified the mistake as soon as she had noticed it, the former South Dakota governor demanded to know why Brennan didn't grill Former President Joe Biden on all the times he had misspoken. However, the seasoned news anchor wasn't fazed by the dig and clarified that she would have brought up Biden's mistake if she were interviewing him, but Noem was the subject of their discussion. 

The drama between Noem and Brennan continued long after the interview, too, as the Republican politician took to X to accuse the news anchor of being biased, writing, "Margaret Brennan interrupted me 36 times — once every 25 seconds on average." According to Noem, the journalist's bias against right-leaning politicians prevented people from relying on "fake news" outlets. 

As Tim Walz and JD Vance argued about immigration in Springfield, Ohio, in October 2024, VP debate moderator Margaret Brennan quickly clarified that there were plenty of legal Haitian immigrants living in the area. The former Ohio senator then dropped his infamous line: "The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact check and since you're fact checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on," (via NBC News). Although both Brennan and her co-moderator, Norah O'Donnell, tried to move on from the topic, Vance continued harping on immigration issues. When Walz tried to jump in with his counterpoints, both of their mics were cut off. In an exclusive chat with The List, a lip reader professed that Vance expressed regret over the embarrassing debate outburst. According to Nicola Hickling, the "Hillbilly Elegy" author professed, "I want to apologize" right before they cut to commercial. 

Even if that apology did happen behind the scenes, it wasn't enough to put an end to Vance and Brennan's clashes. When the Republican politician appeared on "Face the Nation" in January 2025, he argued with her over the vetting process for refugees with reference to Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national living in the U.S. who admitted that he had plotted a terrorist attack on Election Day 2024. When Brennan argued the nuances of the case, such as the fact that he may not have been radicalized at the time of the vetting process, Vance dropped another infamous line: "I don't really care, Margaret."

During President Donald Trump's February 2025 interview with The Spectator, he was asked about Margaret Brennan's infamous altercation with Marco Rubio. After labeling her show "Deface The Nation," the divisive politician cast doubt on the seasoned news anchor's talents by saying, "Margaret Brennan is like anybody on the street that you could take and say, go in and ask a few questions. That was so bad. I don't get how you hire some of these people." Meanwhile, when Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt chatted with a correspondent from the Daily Caller, he couldn't even remember Brennan's name until she reminded him. As for Leavitt's thoughts about the journalist, she stated, "She's stupid. You can put that on that record," (via the New York Post). 

Then, the former "Apprentice" host bestowed one of his favorite demeaning nicknames for women on Brennan, labeling her "nasty." Moreover, Trump expressed utter bewilderment at his secretary of state's decision to make repeated appearances on Brennan's show, since he reckoned all of her questions were posed with an air of sheer hatred. Notably, Trump himself spoke with the famed CBS anchor in February 2019, and it went about as well as you would expect. 

At one point, Brennan got the president all worked up by mentioning the Mueller Report, which detailed Russia's alleged collusion in the 2016 elections. After he decried it as a total "witch hunt," the journalist asked if Trump would be open to releasing the report to the public since it supposedly didn't show any wrongdoing on his part (via YouTube). But Trump dodged the question, arguing that the power to do so rested in the hands of the attorney general. 

When Lindsey Graham appeared on "Face the Nation," in January 2025, Margaret Brennan questioned his support of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's divisive pick to lead the FBI. The famed news anchor asked the South Carolina senator how he could support the appointment of someone with a public "enemies list" into such an important position, and he made a bizarre deflection, talking about the Israel-Palestine conflict instead. However, Brennan called him out on it and brought Graham back to the issue at hand by mentioning that Patel had also expressed his desire to bring journalists down. 

Her response apparently angered the senator, who replied, "You shouldn't worry about Kash Patel. You should worry about reporting the news fairly, which you don't do when it comes to everything Trump." Brennan was forced to remind him that they had invited a MAGA ally like him to their show because they were interested in his opinion. Mitch McConnell found himself in a similarly sticky situation during his appearance on "Face the Nation" in April 2024 when the anchor questioned how he could support Trump in the 2024 elections, despite previously holding him responsible for the Capitol riots. 

After the Kentucky Republican expressed frustration about repeatedly having to justify his past statements about the president, he affirmed that his views on the insurrection hadn't changed. Then, when McConnell took direct aim at Brennan by snarking, "You need to get better research," she made it clear that her research was on point by asserting that he had previously stated that he would throw his weight behind whoever was the GOP nominee.

During Scott Bessent's appearance on "Face the Nation," in December 2025, Margaret Brennan brought up how CBS News' polling had shown that President Donald Trump's rosy picture of the economy wasn't true to the experiences of the average American. When the treasury secretary complained that the commander-in-chief was unhappy with the news cycle surrounding the economy, Brennan quickly interjected to remind him that the polls showed the opinion of regular citizens. However, Bessent stood his ground, stating, "I think the average Americans, they are hearing a lot from media coverage." At one point, the politician even suggested that the Biden administration was to blame for the rising costs. 

In response, the veteran news anchor pointed out that the Trump administration had taken over the reins nearly a year prior, which the president previously bragged would be more than enough time for them to make the economy great again. But Bessent continued to talk about the Biden administration's shortcomings. At least their exchange was respectful and mature, unlike Mike Lee's take on Brennan. Instead of debating with her when the journalist shared her interview with a concerned USAID employee, the Utah senator childishly quipped, "Sorry, Margaret. We really don't care. You're a meme now," (via X). 

Responding to another meme from Brennan's interview with Vice President JD Vance, Lee wrote, "Frankly, Margaret, you've lost all credibility." And, after Selena Gomez shared a clip of herself crying over mass deportations, Lee snidely compared her to Brennan. Of course, he couldn't help but chime in over the discourse over the anchor's interview with Marco Rubio, tweeting that she ought to be ashamed of herself for playing the Nazi card.