‘A White President in Blackface?’ Chris Wallace Confronts Black Media Mogul Byron Allen Over Obama Slam — Which He Stands By

CNN anchor Chris Wallace confronted Black media mega-mogul Byron Allen over his slam of then-President Barack Obama in the wake of unrest over the killing of Freddie Gray.

The latest interviews from Wallace’s series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on HBO Max feature Buttigieg, Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli, and media entrepreneur Byron Allen, owner of The Weather Channel and dozens of other media properties.

One contentious part of the interview came when Wallace pressed Mr. Allen over his 2015 remarks in response to Obama calling out looting that was occurring in Baltimore, and Allen stood by his remarks:

WALLACE: So it’s not just big corporations you go after Byron, you also have had some run ins. You mentioned Barack Obama with him. In 2015, after the riots in Baltimore, after Freddie Gray died in police custody, the President called out the people who looted the streets and called them criminals and thugs (That’s right. That’s right.) Here’s what you said. You said Does President Obama is at this point, a white president in blackface? (That’s right.) Black America would have done much better with a white president. (That’s right. Right.) Barack Obama, a white president in blackface?

ALLEN: That’s exactly right. I said that. And I still stand by that. And what I said was, very loud and clear. He criticized those young black kids in Baltimore for the wrongful death of Freddie Gray.

WALLACE: No, no, he didn’t. He criticized them because they looted the store.

ALLEN: Okay. They looted the stores. And what I said to them is, I am not condoning violence. But before you criticize them, position them to succeed, not fail. Don’t criticize them until you get them a proper education you —

WALLACE: You’re in the middle of a riot, he can’t sit there and change society.

ALLEN: I understand. But Chris, you got to understand something. Why are they positioned like this, you need to address the bigger issue. These kids are sitting there and they’re positioned to fail. No proper education, no jobs, no economic inclusion. And by the way, it was the wrongful death. And at a certain point, you have to understand people are speaking out, because they are being abused. This is genocide. It’s just a slow genocide, but it is genocide. Look at all of these murders, look at all of these wrongful deaths.

Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace drops three full episodes each Friday morning, and CNN airs a version recapping highlights of the episodes every Sunday at 7 p.m.

Watch the full exchange above via HBO Max and CNN.