CNN's Angela Rye explodes when asked to 'prove' Trump's racism: 'He's proven it himself!'
An argument regarding Donald Trump's campaign and race escalated to the point that it frustrated CNN host Brooke Baldwin on Wednesday.
"He talked about a Black Lives Matter protester who got beat up and kicked at his rally [and] said he got what he deserved," commentator Angela Rye argued to one of the real estate mogul's campaign advisors, Barry Bennett.
"That didn't have anything to do with race," Bennett protested, adding, "That's the problem."
"You know what the problem is?" Rye asked. "The fact that you all will be racism-deniers and instead call us 'race-baiters.'"
"Don't go there," Bennett said, wagging his finger. "Do not go there. You have no idea what my family looks like. You cannot go there. You owe me an apology."
"How do I owe you an apology?" an incredulous Rye asked.
"I am not a racism-defender," Bennett insisted. "That is ridiculous."
Bennett then claimed -- falsely -- that that was Rye's description of him. He was not corrected by Baldwin.
"What I am telling you is that you saying the burden of proof is on me to say that Donald Trump is not a racist is false," Rye told him.
"That is not what I said. You have to prove someone is a racist," Bennett insisted. He did not identify a litmus test to back up his statement.
"He's proven it himself," Rye shot back.
Eventually, Baldwin seemed to give up on the segment.
"Ay ay ay. I really love and respect both of you," she fretted. "I know we have 62 days to go, and I know we all just need to be respectful. We just do. We have to talk about the issues. I was about to talk about taxes. I understand that race is a piece of this discussion. I just ... I don't have the words."
Watch the discussion, as posted online, below.