CNN's Chris Cuomo has accused Donald Trump of playing favorites "when it comes to bigotry" after leaping to the defense of the Covington Catholic High School students, while failing to condemn GOP Representative Steve King's racist comments.
Discussing the incident at weekend involving Catholic students and Native Americans at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, fellow CNN host Don Lemon admitted that the media may have misrepresented the events of the apparent standoff at first, but the teenagers involved must have been aware that the MAGA hats many were wearing "carry a certain connotation that provokes a conditioned reaction from many people, especially from marginalized people."
Read more: Alyssa Milano says the red MAGA hat is "the new white hood"
Cuomo added: "If the kids don't have the hats on their heads, then you have a very different situation in terms of how it's perceived."
Cuomo then hits out at Trump for showing support for the students but failing to denounce King for his remarks defending white supremacy.
"The president poached this position and he ignored Steve King," Cuomo said. "You have to see that for what it is. It doesn't make any sense except the most obvious sense. He plays favorites when it comes to bigotry."
Later in the segment, Cuomo suggests that Trump supporters ask themselves "why does he ignore Steve King, and then on MLK weekend, decides to poach and play favorites like this as President of the United States?"
Elsewhere on Cuomo's Prime Time, the host attacked one of Trump's tweets in the wake of the fallout over the coverage of the incident.
"Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be," Trump tweeted. "They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good—maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream!"
In response, Cuomo asked: "Isn't that your job? Not the teenagers?
"Aren't you the one who is supposed to find a way to bring us together instead of exploiting every opportunity you find to divide," Cuomo added.
"Railing on the media and the left, propping up the kids and victims—you neglect that they were mainly victims of their own choices and actions—shouldn't we discuss that? I wonder if the hats had anything to do with your mooted response."
Referring once again to Trump's lack of criticism about King, Cuomo adds: "What message does that send? If you go after white kids, POTUS doesn't like it. Go after everyone else, maybe he'll stay silent. There's a pattern of choices by this president and we have to call it out."
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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