Sen. Martha McSally calls CNN reporter 'liberal hack' in hallway dust-up

Sen. Martha McSally had a combative encounter with a CNN reporter on Thursday as the Senate gears up for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Manu Raju, CNN's senior congressional correspondent, approached McSally, R-Ariz., in a hallway and asked if she would consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial.

"Manu, you're a liberal hack. I'm not talking to you," McSally dismissively shot back.

"You're not going to comment, senator? About this?" he asked.

"You're a liberal hack, buddy," McSally said.

After Raju reported the exchange on Twitter, McSally tweeted a video of the encounter on her own Twitter account.

"A) you are. B) here’s the video," McSally wrote.

A McSally spokeswoman did not respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment about what prompted her putdown.

A CNN spokesperson later criticized McSally, saying in a written statement: "It is extremely unbecoming for a U.S. Senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job."

ROBERTS: Sen. Martha McSally's 'liberal hack' rant isn't going to help her win

By the afternoon, McSally was trying to raise money off the incident. A campaign fundraising email carried the subject line "You're a liberal hack, buddy."

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm not in the Senate to play politics, especially not with liberal hacks who profit off of spin," McSally says in the message to supporters. "Since the day I joined the Senate, I've been attacked by their false stories, smears, and distortions and finally, I've had enough.

"I'm in the Senate to fight for all Arizonans, not play games with the left-wing media."

McSally is a Senate ally of President Donald Trump, who has routinely belittled the media, including CNN, as "fake news."

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed McSally to the Senate to the seat vacated by the 2018 death of veteran Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. This year she is up for election in what is expected to be one of the nation's most closely watched Senate races. She likely will face Democrat Mark Kelly in the general election.

MONTINI: Sen. Martha McSally's rudeness to a CNN reporter was perfectly legit