Crenshaw, Maher clash over Trump: Is goal to make president 'look bad' or 'get to the truth'?

Sign up here.Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, had a fierce debate with "Real Time" host Bill Maher on Friday over President Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak -- one that examined the president's "style" of communicating versus the substance of his policies.During the discussion, Crenshaw said some fundamental questions need to be asked whenever anyone criticizes the president."When people make these accusations," Crenshaw said, "I have to ask them: Is the goal to make Trump look bad or is the goal to get to the truth? Because there are two separate sets of answers for that." Maher began by pressing Crenshaw, who served as a Navy SEAL, to defend his support for Trump, a president who Maher said has "pass-the-buck, lie, finger-point, and shirk-responsibility" tendencies.Crenshaw responded by expressing his support for the country and acknowledging that, "the president's success is certainly tied to the success of the country."The congressman added that he and other GOP lawmakers are frequently asked by the media to defend their support of the president."Republicans always get asked this question and this demand where we have to answer, 'What do we feel about him? You can criticize it, that's fine, but it's not connected to the actions that were actually taken."CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGEThe GOP lawmaker also asked Maher whether the American people "would have accepted" a lockdown of the country sooner -- when there were "only 102 cases" of coronavirus in the U.S. on March 3."I provide all of that context as we try to basically accuse this man of ...