Trump Ally Confronted On CNN In Heated Brawl Over Slavery Erasure: ‘Are You a Veteran?’

Political consultant Tezlyn Figaro confronted prominent Trump ally Kevin O’Leary as he waded into a discussion of the Trump administration’s attempts to erase enslavement from historical exhibits, asking him “Are you a veteran?”

Last month, President Donald Trump’s National Park Service took heat for removing plaques about slavery from an exhibit at the Philadelphia home of the late President George Washington and Martha Washington.

But on Monday, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Senior Judge Cynthia Rufe ordered the exhibits to be rrestored.

On Monday’s edition of CNN NewsNight, CNN anchor Abby Phillip discussed the issue with a panel that included Leigh McGowan, Kevin O’Leary, Tezlyn Figaro, Lydia Moynihan, and Elie Honig.

As Figaro responded to Moynihan’s argument that more emphasis should be placed on America’s role in ending its own enslavement of people, she referenced O’Leary’s comments from an earlier segment.

When O’Leary tried to reinforce the same point — that Americans have freedoms that they wouldn’t have in China — Figaro questioned his standing to make the argument against her:

LYDIA MOYNIHAN: Yes, I don’t think we should erase history. To Kevin’s point, we can’t erase history and those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. So obviously, we need to acknowledge that this was a shameful chapter in American history. And I think I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want to acknowledge that and acknowledge that that was a terrible, horrible chapter.

I think it’s interesting that I look at universities and some of these people are so educated and they don’t have a love for America. And so I think I would love to see, in addition to acknowledging terrible moments in history, I’d also love to see the fact celebrated that America is really the only civilization that’s ended slavery. And so I think we need to have both elements there.

FIGARO: Do you think I love America?

MOYNIHAN: I’m sure you do.

FIGARO: No, I mean, do you as a military veteran?

MOYNIHAN: Of course.

FIGARO: Do you think I love America?

MOYNIHAN: Of course.

FIGARO: And do you also think that erasing would actually happen to my ancestors that actually fought for this country when they couldn’t even sit at land — but it’s not just about trying to erase it. It’s about actually acknowledging and doing something about it. It’s one thing for me to acknowledge something and there’s something else to sit here and act like there’s nothing that needs to be corrected.

This lovely gentleman sat right here and tried to erase it, literally sitting next to me, literally. So, and even — and even —

(CROSSTALK)

FIGARO: — and even doing the comparison saying would you rather go to China and not go to China? Are you a veteran? (SILENCE) So, that means you never raised your — the pause means no.

So that means he never raised his hand to say I’m willing to die for this country. Let’s not talk about just the Dow. Not only was I willing to die for this country, both of my grandparents were.

(CROSSTALK)

MOYNIHAN: Thank you for your service.

FIGARO: That’s right. Thank me for my service. So how dare he sit here and —

O’LEARY: I thank you for your service.

FIGARO: So how dare he sit here and ask me what I would rather be in China when I was willing to die for the country that is locking up the people that we’re talking about. There are more men, Black men, enslaved than those who were enslaved in 1850 in the prison system right now in 1850.

They did not actually get the due process that you guys are talking about that actually had to take plea bargains because they could not afford adequate attorneys which is why I’m in law school, by the way, right now, shout out to FAMU. So, to sit here and ask me and my country do I live in, it’s called America. You can’t point nothing out —

(CROSSTALK)

O’LEARY: Okay, okay. Let me point something out. I do. I want to say this. If you were on the Abby Phillip show, Chinese version, you wouldn’t be here tomorrow.

FIGARO: But I’m not the Chinese version. I’m here at the American version.

(CROSSTALK)

FIGARO: I know and I’m saying it and I’m enjoying it, and I’m calling for my and yours. So, thank me for my service.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: All right, my friends, listen.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: We’re going to bring this to a close. I mean, I do think it is worth acknowledging that you don’t have to prefer China to say that I want to be able to, in this country, I just live in the country and critique it at the same time.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: Yes, I know. I think that she’s actually saying the same thing that she’s expressing her right to criticize, to acknowledge the past and how bad or how good it was.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: So, I don’t know that you guys are all that far —

(CROSSTALK)

FIGARO: And I answered your question and you still didn’t deal with the issue at hand.

PHILLIP: All right, thank you, guys.

O’LEARY: Listen, I didn’t serve —

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: Next for us, the panel is going to give us their nightcaps.

Watch above via CNN NewsNight.

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