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Who is Matt Schlapp? Chris Cuomo's show slammed as 'waste of airtime' after inviting Trump-allied lobbyist

Twitter users ask why CNN would give Trump allies airtime to spread election fraud theory

Lobbyist, former politician and now Chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU) Matt Schlapp found himself trending on Twitter after comments on CNN. The Trump ally was interviewed by host Chris Cuomo on Trump's speech at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Defending his decision, Schlapp said Trump deserved to speak because "he just spent four years enacting the most conservative policy we've ever seen from any President." Cuomo then went to say that allowing Trump to speak would be an acknowledgment of Trump's election fraud, which Shclapp acknowledged. Much to the disgust of many viewers, he spent the next few minutes defending Trump and pushing the election fraud theory.

Despite having failed to hold up in court, the conservative was adamant that the election was stolen. He tells Cuomo, "Just because you fail in court doesn't mean you don't have a good case. It means you lost in court."

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Who is Matt Schlapp?

The Chairman of the ACU has a long history as a conservative politician and lobbyist. He is the son of Susan Schlapp, who served as a councilwoman on the Wichita City Council. Interestingly, Matt's father is never mentioned, as a Twitter user pointed out. "Seriously, who is Matt Schlapp’s father. We know his mother is Susan Schlapp. But, who is his father and why is his father never mentioned anywhere?" @madmandreamer tweeted. 

Schlapp's political career began in 1994 when he served as the Chief of Staff for Rep Todd Tiahrt. He then went on to work on the 2000 election campaign for George W Bush, organizing the infamous Brooks Brothers riot. Following Bush's victory, he served as the political director for the President. While working at the White House, he met and married Mercedes.

In 2004, Matt joined as a lobbyist at Koch Industries. Through these roles, he became a familiar face in conservative circles, which led to his election as chairman of the ACU in 2014. During his now six-year tenure, Schlapp has seen the ACU triple in size. As a result of their outspoken conservatism, the Schlapps were dubbed "a fun new power couple" by Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary, who worked with them in the George W Bush administration.

During the Trump presidency, Schlapp enjoyed a very public role with regular columns in The Hill and other conservative media outlets like Fox News. His conservatism has landed him in some trouble, with Verizon canceling a lobbying contract they had with him in June 2020. Otherwise, he's enjoyed almost no scrutiny in the public, till now.

Cuomo appearance goes viral

Schlapp's appearance on the Chris Cuomo show did not go unnoticed, especially after he continued to spread Trump's election fraud theory. One user tweeted "@CNN You've lost me as a viewer untill you show some responsibility regarding who you give airtime, too! Matt Schlapp and any one else who lies for Trump has got to go!" 

Another user tweeted that Schlapps was a waste of airtime, saying "There is absolutely zero useful information gleaned from an ignorant liar like Matt Schlapp who couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it."

@lostinnyc_1 asked "who does this benefit? I don’t need Chris Cuomo to put Matt Schlapp on the air and tell him he’s wrong, I already know he’s wrong." While CNN has not yet defended its decision, some on Twitter have. @homelesswomen1 backed the move, saying "CNN is recording history".