On Friday's New Day, CNN's Brianna Keilar hosted another segment stacked with criticism of Republicans over their treatment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, liberal nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Frequent guest Sophia Nelson, who has a history of making incendiary attacks on black conservatives, hypocritically accused Republicans of "race-baiting" in their questioning.
After informing viewers that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote against confirming Judge Jackson, Keilar brought up Republican complaints about the treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh by Democrats from 2018, and asked Nelson for her reaction to the Jackson hearings.
Nelson, a disgruntled former Republican who is currently a contributing editor for The Grio, made the "race-baiting" charge as she began:
Look, as someone who was a Republican for 25 years of my life as a black woman, I understand how difficult it is to be a part of that party. But the shenanigans and the disrespect that we witnessed this past week, let's not mince words -- it was race baiting -- it was politics -- it was condescension. Nothing this judge has said or done in her past justifies those kind of attacks.
After admitting that she believes Kavanaugh should have been treated better, she added:
But the point here is that, if you look at the record, Republicans supported Ketanji Brown Jackson in the past. Mitch McConnell has voted for her -- Ted Cruz has voted for her -- (John) Thune has voted for her -- (Chuck) Grassley -- so for them now to fast forward and say somehow this woman is incompetent or that she was evasive -- what, because she didn't define what a woman is for Marsha Blackburn? Excuse me.
Nelson has her own history of making incendiary comments regarding race. In September 2020, after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron decided not to charge police officers who shot Breonna Taylor while executing a late-night warrant involving her ex-boyfriend, Nelson excoriated the black Republican attorney general, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and a "step & fetch Negro" in a tweet.
She even defended the attack afterwards and refused to apologize.
Since then, Nelson has appeared as a guest on CNN 15 times, according to a Nexis search, with no apparent consequences.
A bit later, Nelson mocked Republicans over Judge Jackson's politically correct refusal to define the word "woman" under questioning:
This is a partisan hackery job on this judge. Let's face it. The reality is, as you said, this system is broken. Senator Cruz is a disgrace. Senator Graham was a disgrace. They didn't ask her questions. They yelled at her, they interrupted her, they didn't let her respond. Senator Durbin wasn't as forceful as I would have been if I had been the chair.'...
This segment was sponsored in part by DirecTV. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN's New Day
March 25, 2022
7:41 a.m. EasternBRIANNA KEILAR: A day after tense Senate questioning, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he would not be supporting Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. He called her testimony "evasive" and "unclear." Jackson is expected to be confirmed, but the margin for error will be slim. Joining me now is the president of the National Bar Association, Carlos Moore. The organization has endorsed Judge Jackson. And also with us, Sophia Nelson. She's a contributing editor of The Grio, and author of the book, Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama. She's also the former House Republican investigative counsel.
(...)
So she was well-qualified, according to the ABA, Sophia. Amy Coney Barrett also well-qualified. The ABA had called for an FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh. I just want to make this very clear about some of the distinctions and the differences between the reaction to some of these nominees.
So I wonder then, Sophia, what you thought about the Republicans, what they did during this hearing, and how they seem to say, "Well, Brett Kavanaugh was treated really unfairly"?
SOPHIA NELSON, THE GRIO: Look, as someone who was a Republican for 25 years of my life as a black woman, I understand how difficult it is to be a part of that party. But the shenanigans and the disrespect that we witnessed this past week, let's not mince words -- it was race baiting -- it was politics -- it was condescension. Nothing this judge has said or done in her past justifies those kind of attacks. She made a good distinction about Justice Kavanaugh. I didn't think that Justice Kavanaugh was well-treated, Brianna. I thought they should have gone into private session with that information, and spared the judge and the witness most importantly, the type of attacks and scrutiny that they came under.
But the point here is that, if you look at the record, Republicans supported Ketanji Brown Jackson in the past. Mitch McConnell has voted for her -- Ted Cruz has voted for her -- (John) Thune has voted for her -- (Chuck) Grassley -- so for them now to fast forward and say somehow this woman is incompetent or that she was evasive -- what, because she didn't define what a woman is for Marsha Blackburn? Excuse me.
And so I think that what really disturbs me, Brianna, is that this is a historic nominee, right? Sandra Day O'Connor, 99 votes; Thurgood Marshall, 69 votes. Sonia Sotomayor, 68 votes. We have a practice in the Senate of historic firsts like the first black woman or the first black person or the first woman getting significant bipartisan support, and this judge deserves it. And the way they treated her was appalling. I am appalled as a black woman -- appalled.
KEILAR: Carlos, is it concerning to you -- to the American Bar Assocation -- that we are seeing now this completely partisan divide when it comes to the confirmation of justices, as we saw with Amy Coney Barrett, and we're expecting to see with Judge Jackson here?
(...)
Sophia, I want you both to listen to something that Mitch McConnell said.
MITCH McCONNELL, SENATE MINORITY LEADER: The last 48 hours were a dry and friendly legal seminar compared to the circus the Democrats inflicted on the country just a few years back. The American people know it is not asking too much to ask a federal judge legal questions about her record. I just wish the Senate had gotten more answers.
KEILAR: What did you think about that, Sophia?
NELSON: This is a partisan hackery job on this judge. Let's face it. The reality is, as you said, this system is broken. Senator Cruz is a disgrace. Senator Graham was a disgrace. They didn't ask her questions. They yelled at her, they interrupted her, they didn't let her respond. Senator Durbin wasn't as forceful as I would have been if I had been the chair.'...
