Following the racist white nationalist rally turned riot in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, Donald Trump has faced heavy backlash in regards to his response. The issue was a hot topic during a CNN Panel Discussion which quickly spiraled out of control on Monday.
CNN shouting match
The "Unite the Right" rally kicked off in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, as hundreds of white nationalists took to the streets in the city to express their views of racism. Once the event began, counter-protesters clashed with those in attendance as violence broke out.
During the mayhem, a White Nationalist rally goer drove his car through a group of protesters, killing one and injuring dozens of others. Responding to what took place, Donald Trump condemned the incident, but never mentioned the term "white nationalists" or "white supremacists" during his speech. As expected, critics of the president and the majority of the mainstream media have since come down hard on the former host of "The Apprentice" as a result. In the aftermath of the rally, the issue has dominated the headlines news, and was the topic of discussion during a August 14 panel interview on CNN.
On Monday, CNN host Kate Bouldan lead a panel on what took place in Charlottesville and Donald Trump's reaction.
The conversation became heated when Keith Boykin, a former aide to Bill Clinton, clashed with Lou Gargiulo, a Trump campaign chair out of New Hampshire.
‘How dare you!’ CNN segment descends into absolute chaos as guests scream ‘racist’ at each other https://t.co/KQr69KUWlq
— Raw Story (@RawStory) August 14, 2017
During the debate, Keith Boykin hit back at Donald Trump, accusing the president of doing whatever he can to appeal to his case of "racist and white supremacists." In response, Lou Gargiulo fired back, stating, "How dare you call Trump supporters racist!"
Double down
"Oh, my God," Keith Boykin replied, adding, "You stand-up here and defend Nazis.
That shows you’re a racist." "How dare you call Trump supporters, not all Trump supporters are racist!" Lou Gargiulo answered back. The two continued to argue back and forth as it was made clear that Kate Bouldan had lost control of the panel, with Boykin finally concluding, "Trump supporters are racist."
Next up
Not long after the aforementioned CNN segment aired, Donald Trump held a press conference where he finally condemned white supremacy by name following ongoing backlash from his critics. As of press time, it's unknown how the president will handle the issue moving forward, but it's expected that action will be taken on some level.
