"Well here's what we see in the House of Representatives, you see a very partisan process taking place. Why is that when you all do stories or we see reports in the news it's about four states — Colorado, Arizona, Maine and North Carolina — it seems to be about politics and elections other than the serious process that it is," Gardner said.

When the reporter repeated the question, Gardner turned again to the Senate Intelligence Committee probe noting that it was a "nonpartisan investigation."

"It's an answer that you get from a very serious investigation," Gardner added.

A third reporter then asked Gardner if he would condone a Democrat asking a foreign government to investigate a rival, Gardner knocked House Democrats for "a very partisan, partisanized effort."

"What other reason do you have to cover four states every time you do a story on this. It's about Colorado. It's about California. It's about North Carolina and Arizona, that's what you're saying over and over again in all these stories. So this is a serious time. A very serious investigation. Let's have that investigation," he said.

When a reporter started to ask Gardner if it was okay if he asked a foreign government to investigate a rival, he interrupted telling the reporter, "you know what I've said before."

"This is about the politics of the moment, and that's why they're trying to do this now," he added.

The clip of the back-and-forth between Garner and reporters quickly garnered attention from national media, Gardner's 2020 rivals and even Trump, who liked a tweet from a Bloomberg reporter weighing in on a video of Gardner's comments.

"It’s wrong for the President to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival. And it’s wrong that Cory Gardner refuses to stand up and say so," Hickenlooper tweeted.