CNN Anchors Spend Morning Asking Republicans If White Nationalists Are Racist — Here’s How That’s Going

CNN anchors have been asking Republican guests to weigh in on whether White Nationalists are racist hours after GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) couldn’t bring himself to be decisive on the question.

On Monday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, host Kaitlan Collins had a stunning exchange with Tuberville in which the senator said it was just her “opinion” that White Nationalists are racist. The extended exchange ended like this:

COLLINS: A White nationalist is racist, Senator.

TUBERVILLE: Well, that’s your opinion. That’s your opinion. But if it’s racism?

COLLINS: It’s not an opinion.

TUBERVILLE: If it’s racism? I’m totally against it. I am totally against any type of race — any type of racism. I don’t care what it’s in.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of CNN This Morning, co-anchors Phil Mattingly and Pamela Brown confronted their first two Republican guests with Tuberville’s remarks and asked them to weigh in on the question.

First was former Trump NatSec chief John Bolton, who was taken aback by the question. Bolton got around to agreeing that White Nationalists are racists, but said he doesn’t mind them serving in the military if they keep those views to themselves:

PAMELA BROWN: Your thoughts?

JOHN BOLTON: Look, I’m against hyphenated Americans, I think you should be pro-American and patriotic. And I think part of the problem in society today is we’ve forgotten our national motto of E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. That’s what we should be aspiring to, from many different countries, many different faiths, many different rates. They are all Americans. That’s what we should focus on. And these kinds of distinctions that people are trying to draw are inevitably negative.

PHIL MATTINGLY: Do you think white nationalism is an opinion?

JOHN BOLTON: I think– Well, it’s obviously some people hold it. That doesn’t justify it.

PAMELA BROWN: But do you believe white nationalists are racist?

JOHN BOLTON: I think that’s, I don’t know what other way to describe it.

PAMELA BROWN: So you do.

JOHN BOLTON: Right. I’m not debating anybody here.

PAMELA BROWN: I don’t I just want to be clear, because clearly, Tuberville didn’t want to come out and say that. Should they be in the military?

JOHN BOLTON: Well, I think there are all kinds of people in the military. If they keep their opinions to themselves, they can serve the country. That’s historically been the case.

Republican South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds was next to face the question, but surely not the last:

PHIL MATTINGLY: I’m going to be honest, I don’t understand why this is the hill that the senator has chosen. To be clear, this was, Kaitlan was following up on something he said in a radio interview. Is there confusion about whether or not a white nationalist is a racist in your view?

SEN. ROUNDS: Not in my view. For me personally, I think that when we talk about racists, racism has no place in America today, go back to the very basics, and that is that all men are created equal. We’ve got to work towards that. It’s working towards a more perfect union, but it also means respecting each other. And let’s not get race into the middle of it. Let’s talk about everybody being equal to begin with. And so any time we have the opportunity to make sure that as a nation, we move back in and we eliminate the color barriers that are there, and that have occurred in the past, we should do everything we can to make that happen. It doesn’t mean that you don’t recognize differences. But you should celebrate your diversity.

Watch above via CNN This Morning.