Anderson Cooper Fires Back At Critics Of His Harris Town Hall: 'I'm Not On MSNBC'

The CNN anchor was maligned by social media users after asking Vice President Kamala Harris serious questions during Wednesday's town hall.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is defending himself against frustrated social media users accusing him of grilling Vice President Kamala Harris during Wednesday’s town hall, and is rejecting the notion that difficult questions for political candidates are taboo.

“I believe in asking questions and probing people’s arguments and trying to reveal people’s arguments, what’s true and what’s not,” he told his guest, “Breakfast Club” co-host Charlamagne tha God, on Thursday, before adding: “I’m not on MSNBC for a reason.” The suggestion there, of course, is that the competing network is merely an echo chamber.

Cooper expectedly asked serious policy questions Wednesday and doubled down when Harris voiced support for building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, which she previously called “stupid.” Social media users felt Cooper was too hard on the nominee.

“I was looking up some comments about my grief podcast, and I came across this whole inundation from people who are Harris supporters saying to me online today, ‘How dare you? What a betrayal that you would ask her these questions,’” Cooper said Thursday.

“And I’m like, you misunderstand what my job is,” he added. “I’m not on MSNBC, and no disrespect … they’re very talented, but I don’t watch it. I’m not interested in watching what these overpaid, blow-dried anchors think … I’m not interested in the anchor’s opinion.”