CNN’s Anderson Cooper finally had it out with a guest who was far too liberal for his audience, swatting away accusations that his coverage of the presidential race fixates on Vice President Kamala Harris’s race, not former President Donald Trump’s words.
Charlamagne tha God, host of the popular morning radio show “The Breakfast Club,” accepted Cooper’s invitation to join him for a televised panel discussion about how Black Americans feel Harris is being treated in light of Trump’s comments accusing her of only recently acknowledging her partial race. Harris is half Black and half Indian. Charlamagne, whose given name is Lenard McKelvey, responded coolly when asked whether the Democrat should match Trump’s media appearances by sitting down with “bro”-style podcast hosts like Joe Rogan.
“I think that she should keep calling Donald Trump a fascist,” McKelvey said, referencing an interview earlier this week where Harris essentially did so. “And I think Americans need to keep looking at the rhetoric of Donald Trump, because I don’t know why we’re even thinking about electing somebody who’s talking about putting people in camps. I don’t know why we’re talking about electing somebody who’s talking about mass deportation. I don’t know why we’re having this conversation about somebody who wants to terminate the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election. Aren’t we supposed to be a patriotic country?”
What began as a monologue on Trump’s rhetoric quickly turned racial as the radio host blamed media outlets like CNN for fixating on Black icons like Harris, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and others who go public with their complaints about the state of America. “Whenever somebody like Colin Kaepernick takes a knee in this country, everybody talks about ‘oh, that’s so unpatriotic.’ But a guy can say he wants to terminate the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election and nobody cares?” he asked Cooper, reminding him that the CNN anchor redirected his Trump-is-a-fascist talk back to Harris and white podcast hosts. “Like even me bringing it up now, you brought it back to Kamala and Joe Rogan, Anderson. Who gives a damn?”
Anderson politely laughed and played along with the jibe at first. “Well I think you give a damn who’s elected president and that — ”
“Yeah, a president, that president is a fascist,” McKelvey cut in. Anderson made one last attempt at defending his network’s coverage before the globes came off. “I’ve been talking about this every night,” he said in response to criticism that CNN and other outlets have disregarded some of President Trump’s more authoritarian statements. Not according to his guest. “I don’t think y’all have enough conversations about it,” McKelvey replied. “I think I hear more on this network about ‘is Kamala Harris Black’ than I do about, you know, Donald Trump being a fascist.”
Cooper, among the most calm and collected in CNN’s stable, flashed his anger. “Honestly that’s bulls***,” he said, prompting gasps from others off-screen. Admitting he’s a “huge fan” of his guest and “The Breakfast Club,” he continued trying to make his point. “To say that we’re sitting around and discussing like, is Kamala Harris Black, like, I…”
“Now that’s bulls*** Anderson, to say that y’all don’t have those conversations,” McKevley shot back.
The uncomfortable scene was an anomaly on CNN where tightly scripted panels and town halls are the norm. Despite struggling in the ratings against more established partisan behemoths like Fox News and MSNBC, CNN typically receives its best ratings toward the end of elections or during major events. Cooper, the network’s bright and longest-lasting star, is also its most seasoned political analyst, one who isn’t used to being thrown off his game.
