GOP goes after Schiff for ‘preening for the cameras’

The Republican National Committee (RNC) went after Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) this week over his television appearances in the year since President Trump took office, accusing him of “preening for the cameras.”

The RNC released research showing Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has conducted 227 television interviews since Trump took office, with the most occurring on MSNBC and CNN. He appeared twice on Fox News in the interviews tracked by the RNC.

“Rep. Adam Schiff has used the House’s Russia investigation as his big break, becoming a near constant presence on cable TV to raise his profile,” the RNC asserted in a statement.

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“From January 23, 2017 until February 25, 2018, Rep. Schiff, the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, participated in a whopping 227 television interviews, clocking a cumulative total of 26 hours, 4 minutes, and 10 seconds on television.”

The RNC said that Schiff, who has served in Congress since 2001, participated in 111 interviews with MSNBC that lasted over 12 hours, and did 87 interviews with CNN that lasted about 11 hours.

“In comparison to his extensive television appearances, in 2017 Rep. Schiff spoke on the House floor a meager 10 times for a total of 36 minutes, and 29 seconds,” the RNC said.

“It’s clear that Schiff, who recently had no national profile, has used the House’s Russia investigation as a self-serving platform to increase his visibility and is incentivized to prolong, dramatize, and overhype the investigation so he can continue preening for the cameras.”

The Hill has reached out to Schiff’s office for comment.

The 57-year-old former prosecutor who has emerged as a top critic of Trump has also appeared on broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC on each of their Sunday morning political programs, often to weigh in on the House Intelligence Committee’s probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Schiff last appeared on Fox News in June 2017 on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” His other previous appearance was two weeks prior for an interview with Bret Baier on “Special Report.”

In contrast, Trump has done 21 interviews on Fox News since taking office, most recently by phone with Jeanine Pirro on Saturday. 

The president has not appeared on MSNBC since May 2016 and CNN since August 2016.