Charles Krauthammer and Laura Ingraham locked horns Tuesday night on Fox News’ “Special Report” over President Trump’s behavior at a wild news conference earlier in the day that centered on events in Charlottesville.

And while the exchange between the conservative heavyweights was not as wild, the emotion was not lacking, as Ingraham was NOT happy with Krauthammer calling her argument a “cop-out.”

Aside from the president’s combative demeanor — the press was like a pack of rabid dogs — his greatest sin appeared to be that while condemning neo-Nazis and white nationalists, which he did, Trump pressed home the reality that there was “violence on both sides in that event Saturday.”

Ingraham, a reliable Trump ally, defended the president pointing out that there was two sides, but said he got “sidetracked” from advancing his policy initiatives.

“He’s there to calmly guide the nation through what at the moment is a very troubled time,” she noted. “And advance an agenda of economic empowerment, streamlining regulations, and keeping very optimistic and positive about the American spirit.”

“When he does that, I think it’s really positive,” Ingraham continued. “Today I think he got caught in kind of the pundit trap.”

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But Krauthammer wasn’t about to let Trump off the hook that easy… or Ingraham, as he labeled her argument a “cop-out.”

“To critique what he did today on the grounds that it distracts from the agenda or was a tactical mistake I believe is a cop-out,” he said. “What Trump did today was a moral disgrace.”

Krauthammer then dismissed entirely Trump’s denouncement Monday of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis as “repugnant to all that we hold dear as Americans.”

“What he did is reverted back to where he was on Saturday, and made it very clear that what he read on… Monday, two days later, was a hostage take,” he said. “Clearly reading off a prompter, saying these denunciations by name of the KKK, et cetera. That wasn’t Trump speaking. That was the aides speaking.”

Ingraham did not appreciate Krauthammer’s characterization of her argument.

“I resent that you just said it was a cop-out what I said on this set,” she said.

“I’m not going to pass moral judgment on whether Donald Trump is morally on the same plane as you are, Charles, I’m sure you’re a better person than he is,” Ingraham added.

“We have to be honest about the evil of racism and also honest about the evil — as a far-left — that is trying to tear down both history, and intimidate free speech in the country,” she said, her anger rising.

“That’s not defending neo-Nazis, that’s not defending white supremacists, it’s stating a fact about Antifa.”

Ingraham said she had “no idea” why Trump didn’t better articulate that argument early on.

“I will tell you why he didn’t say it on Saturday, which he made plain today. Because that’s not what’s in his heart,” Krauthammer interjected.

“You can read a heart? Ingraham fired back. “Wow, you really are a PHD.”

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Tom Tillison

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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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