A CNN panel grew testy Wednesday night during a discussion about Donald Trump’s racist comments about Vice President Kamala Harris earlier in the day, with anchor Laura Coates reprimanding a Trump-friendly guest for talking over her.
On Laura Coates Live, the namesake anchor spoke with four guests, one of whom was Bruce LeVell, the former executive director of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. When Coates asked him how Trump questioning Harris’ ethnicity and saying she had “turned Black” could possibly help his campaign, LeVell took a while to answer the question, first praising the National Association of Black Journalists, where Trump spoke.
When he got around to the issue at hand, LeVell didn’t criticize Trump’s comments and tried to put the onus on Harris for how she has described herself at various points in her life.
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“We all know when Vice President Kamala Harris ran for attorney general—and you can fact-check me on this news outlet—she said she‘s the first Indian American. She did run as Indian American, OK?” Levell said. “Then she was chosen for the vice presidential nominee… [Joe Biden] was told that you will get a Black woman. So then she says, well, here is a Black woman.”
“So in all fairness,” he added, Trump’s response to questions at the event was “valid.”
“That‘s based on her, where she was in her life she chose to be at that time,” he continued, as guest Omarosa, a former Trump White House assistant, audibly made her disappointment known.
After another panelist tried to jump in to rebut him, Coates took charge. “One second, I just want to make clear. I know we’re on this panel,” she said, as LeVell interrupted.
“But am I lying? But is it true?” he said, prompting Coates to say “Excuse me!” repeatedly until he stayed silent.
“I’m going to give you the opportunity to speak. Excuse me! Do not overtalk me on my program,” she said, while LeVell was talking about others “getting in my ear.”
“That’s why,” Coates explained, “if you allowed me to speak, I would clarify the opportunities for each of you on the panel.”
Minutes later, Coates asked LeVell a question that gets at the heart of the issue for those who seem to have trouble understanding that someone can be multiracial.
“Bruce, must it be an either/or?” she said.
LeVell maintained that it “doesn’t matter” that Harris has used her background “to her advantage.”
