Dr. Jill Stein was not looking to make political friends during a midday interview Saturday on MSNBC.

She called the ongoing Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care act “an outrage” that takes health coverage away from millions while distributing a tax cut to the wealthy. “This is not health care,” said Stein, an M.D. and public-health researcher. “It’s wealth care.”

But that didn’t mean she was doing Democrats’ bidding in the TV appearance. Far from it.

Asked by anchor Alex Witt about the discussion that she may be called upon to explain to congressional investigators her contacts with the Kremlin — Democrat Adam Schiff, for one, has reportedly said those involved in the House probe are “certainly interested in any efforts the Russians made to influence our election,” including, prospectively, via Green Party presidential nominee Stein — Stein had this to say:

“ ‘The Democrats aren’t doing so well [and are] looking for scapegoats.’ ” — Jill Stein

Stein confirmed, as a widely discussed photograph shows, that she shared a table (briefly, she said) at a Moscow dinner marking the 10th anniversary of the Russian-government-funded media outlet RT with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who went on to a historically brief tenure as national security adviser under President Trump.

Stein said she was merely seeking to leverage her invitation to the RT event to push her view that the U.S. and Russia — and all parties — would benefit from a re-examination of their roles in today’s Middle East.

She said her role in the 2016 presidential campaign was “really critical” and that voters, faced with two “disliked” major-party candidates, were eager to hear different voices. Stein called the campaign and the election result “toxic.”

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