One thing you learn very quickly about Richard Grenell is that he is not a man to play games, especially when it comes to anyone who deliberately misrepresents things he’s said or done or that happened (or did not happen) in the Trump administration.

A number of his left-wing critics found that out the hard way (again) earlier today after Grenell, an acting Director of National Intelligence under former President Trump, appeared on Jim Acosta’s program to discuss the Senate GOP filibustering the formation of a supposedly “bipartisan” commission to study the Capitol riots Friday.

As per the norm, Acosta’s mission was to make Grenell look like he didn’t care about what happened on January 6th simply because he opposes the creation of the “commission.” As you’ll see during the exchange below, the performative CNN “journalist” interrupted Grenell in the middle of his answer on whether or not there should be a Capitol riots commission, when Grenell referred to to what happened as a “bad riot.”

Watch:

“What happened at the Capitol was a bad riot..”
“Woah Rick, Bad Riot? Come on” pic.twitter.com/v2FErvVarn

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 29, 2021

The discerning viewer will note that Grenell was not dismissive of the riots but also wanted to point out that we had a lot of riots last year (the Antifa/BLM-led riots) that the media seems oddly incurious about reporting on, despite the devastation they achieved in Democrat-run cities like Portland and Seattle, where federal courthouses and entire city blocks were under attack and at various points occupied for days and weeks at a time by violent rioters.

But that’s not how Grenell’s detractors viewed his comments. Travis Akers, a left-wing activist, journalist, and former Navy intelligence officer chose to mislead his readers by pretending that Grenell was trying to downplay what happened:

Live on CNN, former Acting-DNI @RichardGrenell just told Jim @Acosta that the deadly terrorist attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th was only a “bad riot.”

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) May 29, 2021

Akers especially took issue with the fact that Grenell apparently didn’t view the Capitol riots to be “the biggest domestic attack on the American government since the Civil War”:

How can individuals continue to downplay the biggest domestic attack on the American government since the Civil War?

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) May 29, 2021

Grenell was having none of Akers’ games whatsoever, and pushed back on his misrepresentation of what he said:

Didn’t use the word “only”. But it was a bad riot.

Like the shooting of republicans on a baseball field, the attacks in Portland and Seattle that continue.

Why is Travis not concerned about violence from the far left? https://t.co/wZDrHREHbn

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 29, 2021

Akers then tried to feign innocence:

“Only” wasn’t in quotations. Try reading.

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) May 29, 2021

But Grenell called him out as a classic example of a partisan hack who enjoys spreading misinformation to stir up the masses:

Then why did you add it?

Because you like to spread partisan misinformation is the answer. https://t.co/pGigO3sjiQ

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 29, 2021

Grenell was also met with other predictably similar attacks from the Usual Suspects, including some who called him “un-American,” but he again did not let their comments slide:

Go for it. Homophobe. https://t.co/FRnRuiVJbA

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 29, 2021

…that you are an unserious legal analyst that takes everything Trump says or does out of context because you have TDS.

Anything else, Elie? https://t.co/UvMWvDVlre

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 29, 2021

“How little you think of our Democracy” is a loaded assault.

It’s probably best for you to not jump to question my loyalty to our country just because you don’t like my politics.

Be passionate about your policies but don’t question my love for America. You don’t know me. https://t.co/mQhzFz6Y7l

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 29, 2021

Apparently, it’s not enough to condemn the Capitol riots. You must also agree that they were “the biggest domestic attack on the American government since the Civil War” or you are a traitor to your country.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I find treating well-intentioned people like human garbage simply because they have legitimate differences in opinion with another person about politics to be a pretty serious attack on America as well, although obviously not a violent one. But maybe that’s just me.

Flashback: Ric Grenell Turns Tables on Media in Must-Read Thread on Their 2020 Election Interference