A Republican senator’s televised interview with a St. Louis journalist took a bizarre turn.
Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) questioned the editor of KDSK-TV Mark Maxwell before a sit-down interview earlier this month, according to Mediaite.
Hawley himself appeared to grab the role of interviewer in the exchange, grilling Maxwell on his own social media history.
The conservative senator put the journalist on the hot seat over his tweets regarding Elon Musk’s social media admirers.
“Why all the hate for people who like free speech on Twitter?”
LOL: Senator @HawleyMO confronts left wing reporter who had an VERY public meltdown about @elonmusk.
“You also said that you didn’t necessarily do any of this sober…I hope you do our interview sober!” pic.twitter.com/jOwyFbtAma
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 17, 2023
At one point, the conversation took a turn one might’ve expected in a local tavern, rather than a media studio.
“I hope you do our interview sober,” Hawley urged Maxwell, citing since-deleted tweets in which he cautioned his followers against assuming he wasn’t buzzed.
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“I try to, I try to,” Maxwell retorted, declining to offer a guarantee.
Maxwell finally relented after Hawley questioned his commitment to sobriety.
“I’m happy to do a blood alcohol test. I’ve had no alcohol… And that was a joke. I want to clarify for you.”
“We’ll save the festivities for this weekend when the Saint Patrick’s Day festivities kick off.”
I love interviews https://t.co/sMXfmHeCgf
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 17, 2023
Maxwell hasn’t mentioned the discussion of his sobriety publicly, but has shared footage from the broadcast segment of the actual interview — seemingly after Hawley put him on the hot seat.
Sen. Josh Hawley finds common ground with Elizabeth Warren. He filed a bill to claw back bonuses paid to SVB executives, ban banks from passing higher insurance fees on to customers, and exempt community banks from paying those higher fees. He says he’d bring back Glass-Steagall. pic.twitter.com/AQ0nVk77yq
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) March 16, 2023
It’s unclear if KDSK intended the pre-interview exchange to be publicly released. Fox News released the footage on Thursday.
