Wednesday night on their low-rated CNN show King Charles, CBS Mornings co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King and the NBA on TNT’s Charles Barkley blasted 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for her claim that America’s never been a racist country. However, the two went further with predictably liberal, 1619 Project tropes that “America was built on” both “racism” and “slavery.”
As Hillsdale College’s David Azerrad wrote in an compendious essay for Real Clear Public Affairs in 2020, this notion “is the great self-evident truth of the left and of the ruling class whose moral opinions are shaped by it” and wielded as “their most powerful political weapon” to lucrative financial benefits.
The show began with the two on the streets of Manhattan asking passerby what they made of “Nikki Haley sa[ying] this country has never been racist.” Not surprisingly, two of the three screamed leftist loons.
After one woman merely said “that’s not right,” another woman gave the eye-rolling anti-American answer that “[t]here’s been a history of racism in the United States and, unfortunately, it continues today.”
The third and final person was a younger man, who said not only was that “completely false,” but that America “was built on racist policies.”
Reacting back in studio, Barkley started with some sarcasm:
I’ve been having a hard time trying to decide who I’m going to vote for. So, Nikki Haley is the leader in the clubhouse because — because she’s a hundred percent correct. If you forget about slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, anti-Semitism, Asian hate that’s been going on in this country, America has been smooth sailing.
Pivoting to scorn, Barkley said to King’s disagreement that he wasn’t “surprised” by Haley being so “stupid”, adding “America was built on racism” as King chimed in that “America was certainly built on slavery.”
After the two stated their agreement with each other, Barkley tried to offer a more nuanced view that we’re allowed to “criticize” America since it’s “the greatest country in the world” and merely “turn[ing] on the TV” will show there’s “racism” out there.
Two different matters, Chuck. It’s generally agreed slavery was present and it was such a tenuous issue at the time that a civil war ensued. But calling America a racist country and was built on it flew in the face of the Declaration of Independence, the Abolitionist movement, the lack of explicitly racist laws today, and major pieces of legislation such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Barkley and King — two of the highest-paid TV personalities, regardless of color — have to keep the grievance train afloat, so Barkley sounded off on Haley for saying “something that stupid, and that’s just stupid.”
“You can’t think that racism doesn’t exist in this country. Right now, like I said, America was built on racism — like I say, segregation, Jim Crow, segregation, even now we’ve got anti-Semitism that’s through the roof. In the last couple years, Asian people have been getting mistreated,” he added as King repeatedly inserted interjections of agreement.
Barkley ended the discussion with another so-called joke: “I think that the reason she said that everything is rosy with black people, she’d been in New Hampshire and Iowa for the last two months, she ain’t seen no black people.”
King said she’d “like to see her address that,” which was ironic considering the guest lineup of Tuesday’s CBS Mornings included none other than Haley. Sure enough, King and her team didn’t use the opportunity to read her the riot act.
To see the relevant transcript from January 17, click “expand.”
CNN’s King Charles
January 17, 2023
10:00 a.m. EasternCHARLES BARKLEY: We've got a couple questions for you.
GAYLE KING: Nikki Haley said this country has never been racist.
FEMALE PASSERBY #1: That’s not right.
FEMALE PASSERBY #2: There’s been a history of racism in the United States and, unfortunately, it continues today.
MALE PASSERBY #1: Oh, I think that's completely false. [SCREEN WIPE] This country was built on racist policies.
(....)
10:05 a.m. Eastern
KING: Charles, we have to play something — I know you all saw this — what Nikki Haley said this week. Roll tape, please.
NIKKI HALEY [on FNC’s Fox & Friends, 01/16/24]: We’re not a racist country, Brian. We’ve never been a racist country. Our goal is to make sure that today is better than yesterday.
KING: We asked — we asked people out on the street about that tonight and we didn’t find anyone that could agree with that.
BARKLEY: Not anybody with common sense.
KING: Yeah, we didn’t find anybody.
BARKLEY: Well, you know what, I’ve been having a hard time trying to decide who I’m going to vote for.
KING: Mmhmm.
BARKLEY: So, Nikki Haley is the leader in the clubhouse because —
KING: She was a leader in your clubhouse?
BARKLEY: — because she’s a hundred percent correct. If you forget about slavery, Jim Crow, segregation — [KING LAUGHS] — anti-Semitism, Asian hate that’s been going on in this country, America has been smooth sailing.
KING: Yeah.
BARKLEY: You know, that was —
KING: Yeah. I think a lot of people were surprised by that comment.
BARKLEY: — well, no, first of all, you can’t be surprised.
KING: I was.
BARKLEY: That was just stupid. America was built on racism.
KING: Mmhmm.
BARKLEY: First of all, you —
KING: America was certainly built on slavery.
BARKLEY: — well —
KING: Yeah, certainly that. Yeah.
BARKLEY: — but listen you can criticize a country. This is the greatest country in the world. You can still criticize it. Anybody who thinks we don’t have racism, you turn on the TV every single day, there’s racism.
KING: Mmhmm. Mmhmm.
BARKLEY: And for her, somebody who wants to be the president of the United States to set something that stupid, and that’s just stupid. Like, when you heard it, you’re like, oh, can you — I wish I could go back on my TV because, you know, some people, somebody —
KING: To rewind to see that you —
BARKLEY: — because you can’t think that.
KING: Mmhmm.
BARKLEY: You can’t think that racism doesn’t exist in this country. Right now, like I said, America was built on racism — like I say, segregation, Jim Crow.
KING: Yeah.
BARKLEY: — segregation —
KING: Yeah.
BARKLEY: — even now we’ve got anti-Semitism that’s through the roof. In the last couple years, Asian people have been getting mistreated.
KING: — well, she has a town hall tomorrow night, Jake Tapper.
BARKLEY: You know what I want to do?
KING: What, what?
BARKLEY: Listen, I want all the black people here in New York, we’re going up in New Hampshire. We’re going to have the whole audience black. [KING LAUGHS] That’s what we’re going to do and when Jake Tapper said, we got a question, we’re going to all raise our hand at the same time. If I could get — it’s cold out here right now. If I could get —
KING: Some — something tells me there’s not very many black people in New Hampshire, so maybe you might have to cover New York. Yeah.
BARKLEY: — well, I think that the reason she said that everything is rosy with black people, she’d been in New Hampshire and Iowa for the last two months, she ain’t seen no black people. But, you know, listen, I’m so disappointed that she said that because it’s 100 percent wrong.
KING: Yeah, I would like to see her address that. We’ll see.
