Michael Eric Dyson, Fmr Trump Adviser Clash Over President’s ‘Breeding’ Remarks: ‘Shame on Him!’
Michael Eric Dyson and former Trump adviser Steve Cortes had at it on Tuesday morning when they appeared on CNN to debate President Trump‘s recent, odious “breeding” comments.
Trump’s use of the word “breeding” with regard to illegal immigration has generated significant level of controversy in the last few days, much of which is due to the racially-charged connotations of the term. When Alisyn Camerota asked Cortes what he thought about this, he conceded that Trump used the term “in-artfully,” but insisted that the president was trying to make a bigger point on crime and sanctuary cities.
Dyson was less impressed, saying that Trump’s choice of words reflects his anti-Latino, anti-immigrant worldview and was quite a bit more than a figure of speech.
“When he talks about a breeding concept, be aware of the denotation and the connotation of the word, and the reality is breeding is connected to a lethargic and very lethal conception of breeding among Latino people that needs to be dealt with. If the president doesn’t understand that, shame on him.”
Cortes retorted that that characterization is “so unfair and just not true,” so he and Dyson launched into a debate regarding crime rates and anti-Latino bigotry. Camerota noted that “breeding” is a prominent part of white supremacist lingo, and she said that Trump was “insensitive” to that implication no matter what he meant with his recent comments.
From there, Cortes complained about how the media and anti-Trump groups rush to assume the worst about the president every time he does anything controversial. He argued that Trump has “earned the benefit of the doubt” because of how his policies have helped racial minorities, though Dyson said POTUS lost the benefit of the doubt a long time ago.
“Using a concept like ‘breeding’ is indicative of a white supremacist ideal that…is central to the definition of white supremacy in this present moment,” Dyson said. “Shame on you, Mr. President. Grow up. Grow into your language, learn to use auto-correct, and then revise yourself with a redactor who gives you a sense of editing that’s based on humanity and compassion, not based on your arbitrary assertions of bigotry which is flowing quite powerfully in his tweets.”
Watch above, via CNN.
[Image via screengrab]
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