This Week host Jonathan Karl allowed Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul to "both sides" the Republican hostage taking that's going on now where they're threatening the full faith and credit of the United States if they don't get their unpopular, draconian spending cuts passed.

As we already discussed here, Trump suggested that "it's okay to destroy the nation's economy and roll over on Republican cuts to senior and veterans" during his train wreck of a so-called town hall on CNN. Karl asked McCaul about Trump "endorsing the idea of default" and how concerned he was "that we are headed towards a default."

MCCAUL: Well, this is always a game we play, every Congress, you know, in daring each other to jump off the cliff. It’s a dangerous game. I think defaulting on our full faith and credit, any financial person would tell you, that’s very catastrophic. So, I – you know, what I think is going to happen, I think Republicans have given at least, you know, again, like with the border, we have a plan. They said we couldn’t govern. We got a border bill passed. We’ve got a debt ceiling bill.

After Karl reminded him that their bill is "dead on arrival with Democrats" and that he voted for debt ceiling increases three times under Trump, McCaul continued to pretend that their hostage taking is somehow negotiating in good faith.

MCCAUL: But the point is, we’ve come forward with our plan. Now let’s – the president’s got to come back with – with what his plan is. I – I think we were reasonable to say, we’re willing to raise the debt ceiling, but we want meaningful spending cuts and capping spending at 2022 levels.

As Hakeem Jeffries tried to explain to Chuck Todd last week, what Republicans have proposed is not "reasonable," and as John explained then:

Republicans refuse to address their budgetary concerns during appropriations and instead used a procedural tactic that leverages a US default to force drastic spending cuts they could not attain otherwise.

Todd played the "useful idiot" last week, and Karl did it again this week. Rather than discuss what is in the budget they proposed, the fact that most Americans don't support it and make any of these Republicans defend their proposal, these Beltway so-called journalists ask a few vague questions and then just move right along to the next topic and leave their viewers completely uninformed about what Republicans are trying to do to them. Shameful.