A CNN panel discussion on President Donald Trump‘s rhetoric turned into a heated clash between Don Lemon and pro-Trump panelist Stephen Moore tonight.

Lemon took note of the protesters in Pittsburgh today with messages about the President’s divisive and hateful rhetoric and discussed whether Trump came to the grieving community at the right time.

He turned to Moore and asked about Trump potentially giving a big speech to fully and completely denounce white nationalism. Moore, a CNN senior economics analyst, first responded by saying Trump has never used the phrase “white nationalism,” just nationalism, and he even said he considers himself a nationalist who believes in America First.

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” Lemon said. “I’m not talking about him using the term. I’m saying him denouncing white nationalism––a full-throated denouncements instead of saying there are very fine people on both sides.”

Moore proceeded to criticize the “politicized” coverage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and claiming that “everyone started blaming the president for it.” Lemon asked him who he’s specifically talking about and Moore pointed to some of CNN’s coverage.

Lemon shot back, “The question that has been asked and what people have said on this network is that they think the President contributes to a climate where this can flourish, not that the President is directly responsible to that. That is two different things and don’t pretend you don’t know the difference.”

He argued it’s not unreasonable to engage in a discussion of Trump’s rhetoric and the influence of that very rhetoric. Peter Beinart agreed and said the shooter “was provoked by the torrent of racist hysteria that has been produced by Donald Trump and other networks about this caravan and what he did.”

He brought up the evil anti-Semitism of the shooter and his belief in Jews “as the hidden hand behind this nefarious threat to the nation,” saying people around Trump should educate him on that history.

“I know Donald Trump. I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Moore shot back. “He’s not anti-Semitic. My goodness, his son-in-law and daughter are Jewish. His grandkids are Jewish.”

Lemon countered, “That doesn’t mean anything.”

Moore argued that his line of thinkins could lead one to blame the shooting of Steve Scalise on Hillary Clinton. Beinart said, “If you can show hateful rhetoric that Hillary Clinton was responsible for that would potentially dehumanize people to the extent that someone might think it was worth killing someone, then we can have a conversation about that.”

Moore said it’s certainly hateful to call Trump a racist or a “xenophobe.” Lemon responded, “Not if the evidence shows that.”

As the panel went back and forth over Trump’s dog-whistling politics and an example of actual anti-Semitic commentary from Trump before he was President, Lemon said he’s just going off the evidence in calling out Trump’s racism. Moore said, “Except his actions aren’t racist. He’s given us the lowest black unemployment rate.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Thank you, President Obama,” Lemon said in response, before concluding with this about Trump’s racism:

“If the evidence is there, what do you want me to do, lie about it? I’m a journalist. I have to give the facts and the truth. The truth and the evidence points to him being a racist. He’s a racist. His policies and his words are racist, end of story.”

You can watch the full clash above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2SAnkVo