Joel Payne Reacts to Bossie’s ‘Cotton-Picking’ Remark on MSNBC: ‘Par for the Course’ in Trumpworld
On Sunday afternoon, Democratic strategist Joel Payne joined David Gura on MSNBC to discuss the earlier moment on Fox News when former Trump deputy campaign manager and Fox News contributor David Bossie said that Payne was “out of [his] cotton-picking mind.”
Right off the bat, Gura asked Payne what he thought about the moment he heard the remark.
“Well, obviously I felt demeaned,” said Payne. “There were different stages of rage and trying to keep my composure. Obviously we want a civilized discussion.”
They were able to wrap up the segment without it getting any further out of hand, and later host Ed Henry offered an apology to viewers.
But Payne said that this is just what he expects these days.
“Unfortunately that’s par for the course for this president and the people who surround him,” said Payne.
Later in the interview, Payne says that he accepts the apology that David Bossie offered for the racist comment.
“Personally I try not to hold grudges, so for whatever it’s worth, I accept the apology, I appreciate those sentiments,” he said. “I do hope, however, he’s more thoughtful going forward.”
He added, though, that it doesn’t change the bigger picture.
“By the way, this is a person who is routinely in the ear of our president,” he explained. “So as offended as I was by David Bossie, I’m even more offended by some of the things that come out of the mouth of the Commander in Chief.”
Payne points out that the point of being on the show was to talk about the children and families at the border.
“I’ll be okay,” said Payne. “but what about those children who are separated from their family? Those are the folks that I’m worried about.”
David Bossie’s tweeted apology is here, and a Fox News spokesperson issued this statement:
“David Bossie’s comments today were deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments of FOX News and we do not in any way condone them.”
Watch the clip above, courtesy of MSNBC.
[Featured image via screengrab]
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