CNN’s David Gregory on Roseanne: Can’t Blame Trump For Everything
While Donald Trump’s name has been thrown around amid this week’s Roseanne Barr racist tweet controversy, CNN’s David Gregory argued that you can’t blame the president for everything — despite his endorsement of the actor and her now-cancelled TV show. Gregory believes this is all part of “a much bigger issue” than just the White House.
The CNN contributor — who opened his remarks Wednesday on New Day by noting that “nobody cares what Donald Trump Jr. thinks,” referring to his retweet of an anti-Semitic conspiracy first tweeted by Barr — suggested that Americans should look beyond just Trump on this issue:
“President Trump cannot be blamed for everything that’s wrong in our culture. It is also a mistake to say, ‘oh, well, it’s the president’s fault that this kind of thing has been unleashed.’ This is a much bigger issue than President Trump. So much of our national dialogue is reduced to what’s said on Twitter. It is really a lot of what’s wrong with public discourse. People think, including the president, that they can elevate this social platform to be a place of discourse when so much of it is irresponsible, wrong, and provides a veil of anonymity, although not much. It makes people feel, ‘oh, yes, this is really the conversation that’s happening.'”
Gregory continued by called Barr “racist and offensive,” but added that it is unfair to suggest she is emblematic of all Trump voters.
As for Barr’s controversey, the comedian had her hit comeback show shut down by ABC yesterday after she went on a racist and conspiratorial tweetstorm. The worst of her recent racist statements included comparing former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett, who is a person of color, to an ape. Despite the president praising Barr and the high ratings of ABC’s Roseanne, he has yet to weigh-in on the controversy.
Watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
