Jay Michaelson almost called his CNN appearance to an end after a passionate argument about “transphobic rhetoric” with Shermichael Singleton devolved into a shouting match.
What started as a conversation about methods of winning swing voters quickly got out of hand, with host Abby Phillip failing to stop the two men from shouting over each other.
Kicking off the segment, the NewsNight with Abby Phillip panel debated how effective Donald Trump’s constant anti-trans political ads were in winning voters from the Democrats.
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“I think there are a lot of families out there who don’t believe boys should play girls’ sports,” Singleton said, prompting a rebuttal from Michaelson.
“They’re not boys! I am not going to listen to transphobia at this table! I am not going to listen to you call a trans girl a boy,” he exclaimed.
“You didn’t allow me to finish my explanation,” Singleton said.
“When you use a word that‘s a slur, I‘m going to interrupt. That’s not how it is. They’re not boys. They’re not boys!” Michaelson responded.
Phillip then attempted to take control, urging Singleton to “talk about this in a way that is respectful.”
“Okay, so, let me rephrase this since I’m being targeted here,” he said.
“Just to be clear, you are not being targeted, I am specifically saying that I know that you are not intending to be transphobic,” responded Phillip.
After being prompted to explain his reasoning again, Singleton began: “So the way regular people interpret it, which is why those ads were effective.”
Michaelson interrupted: “That’s not regular people. That’s not regular people. There’s no consensus that these are actually boys. This whole thing about trans girls is a canard. We’re talking about a tiny, tiny sliver of the population.”
The table again fell into overlapping arguments, before Singleton began making his point for the third time.
“My point in terms of its effectiveness. Regular people with children look at these things and they say, ‘You know what, this is a bit too far. I don‘t agree with this, I don’t like this, I think Democrats are going way too much to the left on social issues.’ They’re uncomfortable with it,” the Republican strategist said.
“A lot of people believe that. A lot of families believe that. You may disagree with that reality, but that’s why Republicans kept running those ads over and over and over again, because they saw all the metrics suggested that they were working.”
Michaelson responded: “And they lied in those ads over and over again, and using rhetoric like you just used, saying, ‘This is boys playing girls’ sports.‘”
