CNN’s Anderson Cooper found himself defending his network Thursday night during a conversation with Charlamagne tha God when the radio host shot down Cooper’s line of questioning before asking “Who gives a damn?”
The moment came on Cooper’s show “AC360” after Charlamagne launched into his frustrations on his belief that the news networks were not engaging in conversations about Donald Trump’s increasingly dangerous rhetoric, and are instead focusing, unfairly he added, on Harris’ race.
“When somebody questions Kamala Harris’ blackness, or is she a DEI hire, you all will have roundtable discussions about that – asking that question – how come you’re not having roundtable discussion asking ‘Is Donald Trump a fascist? Actually, not even asking, stating it,” Charlamagne said.
Cooper later asked the radio host about his conversation with Harris and then noted that Trump is planning on appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast. He then asked Charlamagne if he thinks the vice president should also be interviewed by Rogan.
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“I think she should keep calling Donald Trump a fascist,” he said. "We fought to be a patriotic country, whenever somebody, 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 overturn the results of an election and nobody cares?"
“Even me be bringing it up now, you brought it back to Kamala and Joe Rogan, Anderson – who gives a damn? Charlamagne said.
“Well, I think you give a damn about who's elected president, and I’m asking you…” Cooper responded before Charlamagne jumped back in.
“Yeah especially if that president is a fascist that's talking about putting people in camps, that's talking about once again terminating the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election, that is talking about, you know, jailing his political opponents like that rhetoric doesn't scare people?”
“We talk about this every single night,” Cooper said.
Charlamagne responded by saying he didn’t think there were “enough conversations about it.”
“I feel like I heard more on this network about ‘Is Kamala Harris Black?’ than I do about Donald Trump being a fascist.”
“Honestly that’s bulls---, I’m sorry. No, I'm not — I'm a huge fan of yours, but to say that we're sitting around discussing ‘Is Kamala Harris Black?’ like I don’t…"
“No, that’s bull--- Anderson for you to say you don’t have those conversations.”
Cooper seized the moment to say that he doesn’t believe any “any anchor on this network has been going around saying ‘Is she Black?’ I’m sure we have had nutty people or people who have strongly held beliefs who I may disagree with who somewhere on some panel have said something.”
Watch the exchange below or at this link.