Appearing as a panel member on Thursday's Anderson Cooper 360, during a heated debate over President Donald Trump not choosing Hispanic cabinet secretaries, moderate Republican CNN analyst Ana Navarro had a meltdown as she excoriated Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos as sounding "like she's fallen on her head as a baby" during her confirmation hearings, and attacked her support for allowing local areas to set their own policies on guns in schools. She also mocked Dr. Ben Carson as not being qualified to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development, wondering, "What is his housing experience other than that he lived in a house once?"
After conservative CNN political commentator Paris Dennard argued in favor of Trump choosing the best people for his cabinet rather than making selections based on race, Navarro -- who has been a long-time critic of Trump -- angrily trashed both Carson and DeVos as she responded:
You're going to tell me that Ben Carson is the best person with an understanding on housing in the United States of America. You mean to tell me that Betsy DeVos -- whose hearing felt like she's fallen on her head as a baby -- has got the best understanding of education in the United States of America.
Dennard pushed back at Navarro for her hit at Carson as he responded: "How are you going to criticize Ben Carson for being the only African-American, and, at the same time, complain that there's no Hispanic? You should be proud that Ben Carson is there."
The two argued back and forth:
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NAVARRO: No, let me tell you what I want. I want a qualified African-American. I want a qualified Hispanic.
DENNARD: Who are you to qualify Ben Carson? What do you know about his background?
NAVARRO: I think he's a wonderful surgeon. I think he's a very qualified surgeon.
DENNARD: Do you know about the businesses that he's done? Do you know about the community development that he's done in Detroit?
Navarro then took a final shot at Carson and then turned back to trashing DeVos as she added: "What is his housing experience other than that he lived in a house once? I mean, what -- Betsy DeVos did not know what IDEA was. Betsy DeVos thinks children can take guns to school so that they can kill grizzly bears. Maybe in Florida it's alligators."
The argument then continued:
NAVARRO: I do not accept that there is not one qualified Hispanic who can be in the cabinet. None of us want token anything on there.
DENNARD: That's what you want.
NAVARRO: We want qualified people, and I know there are qualified Hispanics.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Thursday, January 19, Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN:
9:32 p.m. ET
PARIS DENNARD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think, at the end of the day, we have to remember there are 4,000 positions that still need to be filled by this administration I promise you -- I know for a fact that Hispanics will be in those key positions, but we can talk about having one Hispanic or somebody that looks like you on the cabinet, but what I'm more concerned about -- and I know what Donald Trump is most concerned about -- is having somebody who has an understanding of how to do what needs to be done to run the government and run these agencies-
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But here's the problem. You're going to-
ANDERSON COOPER: Let Paris finish.
DENNARD: At the end of the day, what's more important is having somebody in there who has an understanding, rather than having a Hispanic face in there just for the sake of having a Hispanic face.NAVARRO: You're going to tell me that Ben Carson is the best person with an understanding on housing in the United States of America. You mean to tell me that Betsy DeVos -- whose hearing felt like she's fallen on her head as a baby -- has got the best understanding of education in the United States of America.
DENNARD: How are you going to criticize Ben Carson for being the only African-American, and, at the same time, complain that there's no Hispanic? You should be proud that Ben Carson is there.
NAVARRO: No, let me tell you what I want. I want a qualified African-American. I want a qualified Hispanic.
DENNARD: Who are you to qualify Ben Carson? What do you know about his background?
NAVARRO: I think he's a wonderful surgeon. I think he's a very qualified surgeon.
DENNARD: Do you know about the businesses that he's done? Do you know about the community development that he's done in Detroit?
NAVARRO: What is his housing experience other than that he lived in a house once? I mean, what -- Betsy DeVos did not know what IDEA was. Betsy DeVos thinks children can take guns to school so that they can kill grizzly bears. Maybe in Florida it's alligators. I do not accept that there is not one qualified Hispanic who can be in the cabinet. None of us want token anything on there.
DENNARD: That's what you want.
NAVARRO: We want qualified people, and I know there are qualified Hispanics.
