MSNBC's Katy Tur appears to be struggling to find her footing.

She is receiving criticism after she revealed on-air Monday that she was unfamiliar with former President Obama's infamous promise in 2012 to be more flexible on Russia.

Though she owned up to her ignorance that same afternoon, and she corrected the record in her reporting later that evening, the moment suggests a continued rocky television debut for a woman the Washington Post described recently as a breakout media star.

In an interview Monday with Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., Tur pushed the congressman to address the lingering issue of President Trump's alleged connections to Russia.

"[Trump] also chose a number of people that were, at least, in his administration, until last week, who were friendly with Russia – General Mike Flynn being one of them," the MSNBC reporter prodded.

"His former campaign CEO was Paul Manafort, who's got ties to Russia, his secretary of state was given the medal of friendship by Russia. So you say there's a lot of conservatives who are going to push back on Russia, but I see a lot of folks within Donald Trump's administration who have a friendlier view of Russia than maybe past administrations did," she added.

The congressman responded by referring to a moment in 2012 when Obama was caught on a hot-mic telling then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility." (Rooney incorrectly suggested the former president was caught making promises directly to Putin).

Medvedev responded at the time to Obama's remarks, "I understand. I transmit this information to Vladimir."

After Rooney referred Monday to the former president's hot-mic promise, Tur said, "I'm sorry I don't know what you're referring to, Congressman."

The reaction online to her remarks was swift, and she was harshly criticized for her admitted ignorance. Tur owned up later to her limited knowledge of the last administration, and she pledged to do better.

"To be fair, I didn't touch politics in 2012. I almost exclusively covered fires and shootings in NYC area," she said on social media. "And I'd rather be honest about what I know and don't know in the moment. Got off air, did the research, then talked about it at 5pm on MTPD."

Though Tur won some kudos for how she handled her flub, this is at least her second major head-scratcher during her debut as a cable news host.

Remember: It was just a few weeks ago that she appeared to suggest that Trump would move to have reporters in the U.S. assassinated.

During a Feb. 6 broadcast, Tur focused on Trump's distaste for the press, and then segued seamlessly into talking about the fact that an astounding 34 reporters have been killed in Russia since Putin first assumed control of the country at the turn of the new millennium.

"Why — what is your sense of why this president is going above and beyond — bending over backwards, if you will — to stay away from criticizing the Russian president and to almost give him an excuse?" Tur asked Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., on Feb. 6.

"As we know, there has, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there. Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesn't agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down?" the MSNBC reporter added.

Tur's question is confusing, and her exact meaning is ambiguous.

She asked if Trump is "almost" giving himself "an excuse" by refusing to criticize Putin. Tur then said in the next breath that there have been a "couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia" since Putin assumed control in 2000. Trump is supposedly giving himself "an excuse" to do what, exactly?

The Washington Examiner sent Tur a request for comment that day asking her to explain her remarks. She punted the request to an MSNBC spokesman, who then refused to comment on the record. The spokesman promised to provide the Examiner with a statement, but he never sent it.

Tur rose to prominence during the 2016 presidential election after she weathered personal criticism from the then-GOP nominee. Trump regularly criticized the MSNBC reporter by name at campaign rallies, winning her scorn from his supporters and praise from her colleagues.

She has since leveraged her newfound fame into hosting a temporary afternoon program on MSNBC that focuses on the new administration's first 100 days.

But if there's any future for Tur in anchoring a political news program, she must have a sounder grasp of the past.

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This article has been updated to correct Sen. Fischer's party affiliation.