CNN's Cuomo: Does Trump Have 'Hate in His Heart' for Minorities?

bradwilmouth | August 2, 2020
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Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog

On Friday's Cuomo Prime Time, CNN host Chris Cuomo cued up his guest, South Carolina Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn, to react to former President Barack Obama comparing President Donald Trump to 1960s segregationists.

After Clyburn likened Trump to those who were behind the beating of Civil Rights icon John Lewis and peaceful protesters in 1965, Cuomo provocatively asked his guest if Trump "has hate in his heart" for minorities.

[video:https://www.mrctv.org/node/552317 align:center]

Toward the end of the interview, Cuomo brought up President Obama's speech at Lewis's funeral in which he tried to lnk Trump to segregationist Democrat George Wallace:

CHRIS CUOMO: I thought that he was going to talk about how Congressman Lewis had come up and what he had fought through and what the impact was on desegregation and voting rights. Instead, he identified as what was the opposite of the target for Lewis in terms of fighting injustice on what Trump is doing right now.

He then played a clip from President Obama's speech: "George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators."

The liberal CNN host then posed: "Do you believe that what this President is doing is on par with what Lewis and you and so many a generation fought against in the '60s?"

In his response, Clyburn claimed that the protesters at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., were as peaceful of those who marched with Congressman Lewis across Edmund Pettus Bridge:

CONGRESSMAN JIM CLYBURN, HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP: Absolutely -- no question about that. If you look at what John Lewis and those 600 people walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge back in March 1965, they were peaceful. They were coming out of church -- walking away from a church -- and they were put upon by what I call "state-sponsored rioters" calling themselves law enforcement. That's what they did then.

After mistakenly referring to Black Lives Matter Plaza in New York, Clyburn then clarified that he meant Lafayette Square in D.C. as he added:

That's what they were doing. Peaceful. And this President called out law enforcement officers on horseback clearing the way for him to go out and stage a phony Bible-toting trip in front of St. John's Church. That is the same thing. That's why the President reminding people that there is no difference in what this President is doing today than what was done in Alabama back in 1965.

Instead of pointing out that some of those allegedly peaceful protesters had set fire to the church the night and engaged a substantial amount of violence on May 31, which was the reason the decision was made to relocate the protesters by June 1, Cuomo followed up by inviting Clyburn to go even more negative against the President: "You think this President has hate in his heart for people like you and for the idea of justice and society for all?"

The incendiary suggestion by the CNN host proved a bit much even for Clyburn although he did continuie his criticisms of the President, including the discredited claim that Trump lobbied to execute innocent teenagers in the 1980s. Here's Clyburn:

CLYBURN: Well, I don't know about hate, but I know he has tremendous disrespect for people who do not look like him -- people whose backgrounds and experiences are different from his -- he would not rent his apartments to people who look like me -- he called on the state of New York to execute four innocent people -- young men -- who look like me.

This episode of Cuomo Prime Time was sponsored by Enterprise and Tommie Copper. Their contact information is linked.

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, July 31, Cuomo Prime Time on CNN:

9:44 p.m. Eastern

CHRIS CUOMO: You were friends with Congressman Lewis for a very long time -- may he rest in peace. I thought it was very interesting that President Obama -- it kind of threw me, to be honest, chairman -- I thought that he was going to talk about how Congressman Lewis had come up and what he had fought through and what the impact was on desegregation and voting rights. Instead, he identified as what was the opposite of the target for Lewis in terms of fighting injustice on what Trump is doing right now. Let me play a little bit of it for the audience to remind them.

FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.

CUOMO: Do you believe that what this President is doing is on par with what Lewis and you and so many a generation fought against in the '60s?

CONGRESSMAN JIM CLYBURN, HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP: Absolutely -- no question about that. If you look at what John Lewis and those 600 people walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge back in March 1965, they were peaceful. They were coming out of church -- walking away from a church -- and they were put upon by what I call "state-sponsored rioters" calling themselves law enforcement. That's what they did then.

Same thing at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in New York -- I mean, I'm sorry, in Washington, D.C. That's what they were doing. Peaceful. And this President called out law enforcement officers on horseback clearing the way for him to go out and stage a phony Bible-toting trip in front of St. John's Church. That is the same thing. That's why the President reminding people that there is no difference in what this President is doing today than what was done in Alabama back in 1965.

CUOMO: You think this President has hate in his heart for people like you and for the idea of justice and society for all?

CLYBURN: Well, I don't know about hate, but I know he has tremendous disrespect for people who do not look like him -- people whose backgrounds and experiences are different from his -- he would not rent his apartments to people who look like me -- he called on the state of New York to execute four innocent people -- young men -- who look like me.

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