Martha Raddatz hosted this week’s episode of ABC’s This Week, and her guest was Senator Tim Scott. The Trump campaign seems to think that went poorly for her, declaring in a statement:

“Martha Raddatz’s Trump Derangement Syndrome was on full display this morning — as she nearly fought back tears, just as she did on Election Night 2016. After President Trump’s dominant and historic victories in both Iowa and New Hampshire, the Fake News is melting down, and it’s never been more obvious.”

First of all, the fact that Nikki Haley got 40 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, rather than suffering a blowout as she was expected to, definitely puts an asterisk next to the words “dominant and historic.”

And secondly, Haley got a majority of those who were previously undecided and independents, the demographics Trump needs to win the general election.

Raddatz was also never “fighting back tears” at any point.

She did get a little uptight as Senator Scott dodged question after uncomfortable question.

First, he completely avoided the question when Raddatz brought up the landmark $83.3 million ruling against Trump in the defamation lawsuit filed by his rape victim, E. Jean Carroll.

Then Scott simply refused to stay on topic:

Raddatz: I want to talk about Donald Trump. Please — please answer the question about him calling her a birdbrain.

Scott: But let’s …

Raddatz: You worked with her. She appointed you a senator. Do you like that kind of language?

Scott: His language is far more provocative than mine.

Senator Scott suspended his own presidential campaign late last year and threw his weight behind Trump, despite the fact that it was Haley (as Raddatz pointed out) who appointed Scott a Senator.

And there’s been bad blood between Trump and Raddatz since 2016, when she co-moderated a CNN debate along with Anderson Cooper between Trump and his then-opponent, Hillary Clinton.

That event was unlike any previous debate, in that the candidates refused to shake hands at the beginning, Trump argued with the moderators all night, and prior to the debate, Trump invited a handful of women who had previously accused former President Bill Clinton of inappropriate conduct to sit in the audience.

When those tactics failed to work for him, Trump lumped Raddatz in with the rest of the “fake news,” as he calls it.

We’ll see how well his tactics work this time around.

Tim Scott refuses to condemn Trump calling Nikki Haley "bird brain": "His language is far more provocative than mine … [but] I also think talking about someone's age is inappropriate." pic.twitter.com/m8v5R2o1b3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 28, 2024