CNN’s Brianna Keilar spoke Wednesday to T.W. Shannon, co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, in an interview that did not take long before going completely off the rails.
Keilar started off by questioning him about one of the most stunning moments from the debate and asking, “Why did the president not condemn white supremacists?”
“Three times the president said he would condemn white supremacy…” Shannon started.
“And then he didn’t,” Keilar said. “Why didn’t he?”
“How many times does the president have to have this conversation?” Shannon responded. “At some point the media has to accept his answer. He’s condemned it at least 7 times that I can Google real quick and find it, and he said it last night.”
He claimed that Trump “called out” the Proud Boys, to which Keiler responded, “Come on. He told them to stand up and stand by.”
Shannon argued, “He said stand down, stand back and that means we’re coming for you.”
Keilar confronted him and they ended up talking over each other, with Keilar pressing further on the white supremacy issue and Shannon saying, “I don’t need you of all people to tell me what’s facing my community. I’m offended by that and you should apologize for it.”
Keilar brought up what officials
“Why couldn’t the president condemn white supremacy?” Keilar asked.
“He condemned it three times last night. He said it,” Shannon responded.
“He said ‘sure’ and then he didn’t do it,” Keilar said.
As they kept going back and forth, Keilar jumped in to say, “Hey, we’re not at a presidential debate, T.W., can you listen to my question?”
“You won’t let me answer your question,” Shannon shot back.
Keilar went on to review Trump’s record:
“In the 1970s, he discriminated against Black tenants, in the 1980s, he called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who you were know were exonerated. In the ’90s, he was fined for discriminating against Black employees. In 2005, he pitched a version of The Apprentice that pitted Black against whites. Then in 2011, pushed the Obama birther conspiracy. In 2015 he called Mexicans immigrants rapists who are bringing crime. In 2015 he called for a Muslim ban. In 2016 he claimed Hispanic judges couldn’t be impartial. In 2016 he also refused to condemn former KKK leader David Duke…”
She continued rattling off more examples before saying, “You say he has condemned
“The problem is the president has done it on several occasions,” Shannon said.
After they ran the video of what Trump said about the Proud Boys, Shannon told Keilar, “The problem is the media won’t accept the narrative. The reason why this is so hurtful to me as an African-American is because there are a whole lot of other issues facing our community that don’t get talked about.”
They ended up clashing over Trump’s record with respect to Black unemployment, and when Shannon again told Keilar she’s not letting him answer her questions, she said, “You’re saying a bunch of crap!”
“This sounds a lot like the debate from Joe Biden last night,” Shannon remarked.
“Well, you’re acting like Donald Trump,” Keilar said.
Keilar and Shannon continued to clash over Trump’s record on the economy, the pandemic, and on criminal justice reform.
As Keilar wrapped the segment, she
“I wish I could say the same,” Shannon responded
You can watch above, via CNN.