The exchange between Sununu and O'Brien concluded abruptly. | AP Photos Sununu vs. O'Brien: 'Stop this!'

A heated exchange over Medicare unfolded Tuesday on CNN’s “Starting Point” when anchor Soledad O’Brien pushed former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu to explain how Mitt Romney’s budget plan differed from running mate Paul Ryan’s.

She asked whether the Ryan Plan is the same as the Romney Plan.


“But it isn’t! You guys keep wanting to say it and I’m telling you, it’s not,” he exploded. Sununu added later, “It’s support for the concepts that are in the Ryan Plan but Mitt Romney for six months has had on the table his package, his plan and his approach for dealing with Medicare. And if all you want to do is keep repeating the garbage that comes out of the White House, then you’ve got a problem.”

The exchange follows an incident in Florida yesterday, in which reporters pressed Romney to specify where he differs with vice presidential pick on Medicare. He skirted a direct answer three times.

On air, O’Brien read a quote from Romney, who said earlier this year that it would be “marvellous if the Senate were to pick up Paul Ryan’s budget and adopt it and pass it along to the President” and also cited the Medicare plan outlined on Romney’s website, saying it sounded similar to the Ryan option.

Sununu, who told O’Brien to “put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead when you do this,” responded by pivoting to the Obama administration, slamming the president for “taking $717 billion” out of Medicare via the Affordable Care Act, a statistic O’Brien said had been debunked.

“They are assuming, Soledad, stop this!” Sununu said. “All you’re doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the White House and gets repeated on the Democratic blog boards out there. If you’re going to mouth what comes out of the White House…”

O’Brien, bristling, said her questioning of Sununu’s assertion was rooted in unbiased information.

“You know, let me tell you something,” she said. “There is independent analysis that details what this is about. And repeating a number over and over…”

“No, there isn’t!” Sununu interrupted, saying that there is “Democratic analysis.”

“Yes, there is! Yes, there is!” O’Brien said over the governor’s objections. She continued, “Sir, let me finish. Let me finish. There’s independent analysis, [Factcheck.org], the CBO and CNN has also done its own independent analysis and name-calling to me and somehow acting as if by repeating a number of $716 billion, that you can make that stick. … That’s not true. You can’t just repeat it and make it true, sir.”

The exchange concluded abruptly when O’Brien thanked Sununu for joining the show, saying it was a pleasure to have him. The governor’s response?

“Yep.”