Lawmaker’s stunned face and other viral moments cap rough week for political class

A hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith turned into an embarrassment for Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, and it topped a week of political missteps on both sides of the aisle. Schmitt accused Smith of lying under oath after Smith denied going to an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024. Schmitt said text messages showed otherwise. But he had evidently confused references to the Iowa Hawkeyes with the NBA team. Smith had in fact gone to a women's college game between Iowa and Maryland that night, so there was no perjury to find, according to Fox News.

As the error became clear, a pool camera focused on Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt, who was sitting next to Schmitt, and captured her visibly shocked expression. The clip spread widely and overshadowed much of the rest of the hearing. An MSNOW reporter and a liberal YouTuber were among those who mocked the moment online, the latter joking about Schmitt's 2028 vice presidential prospects.

Schmitt responded with humor, posting on X shortly after the hearing ended that he wondered who knew Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan, since Clark played for Iowa in that game.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →