CNN political commentator David Urban — one of four actual conservatives working behind enemy lines — tore into his friend and liberal political commentator Bakari Sellers on Monday’s AC360 for refusing to praise President Trump’s historic Middle East peace deal and praising former President Obama apocalyptic rhetoric about the second Trump presidency setting America on the teetering edge of authoritarianism.
First, here was Sellers weighing on Obama’s comments, which came on the final episode of far-left podcaster Marc Maron’s show:
Fill-in host John Berman then let Urban have a go. Needless to say, Urban didn’t waste it in pointing out Obama’s “self-congratulatory” attitude about a taped podcast interview decrying Trump’s presidency on the same day he achieved something presidents have failed to do for decades:
Berman emphasized the taped aspect, but Urban countered Obama didn’t have to make his Maron pow-pow the first thing he tweeted about and refusing to lead with the history-making nature of the day “looks a little small to me.”
Sellers doubled down by suggesting Urban wants the focus of this day for the history books to be about Donald Trump and only Donald Trump and not the hostage release...which is ludicrous.
To play the faux both-sides game, he also was obtuse in discarding Urban and anyone saying Gazans can return home when much of the Strip has been leveled (and therefore not their actual homes) (click “expand”):
I think that David’s framing a lot is the reason that people are not necessarily having the conversation that David wants us to have and the reason being is because David’s initial thought, the same thing with Donald Trump and Jared Kushner is let’s praise Donald Trump. And that’s not the framing of this...I think that a lot of people, particularly those in this country who believe Israel has a right to exist, are very happy that these final hostages came home. They’re very happy that there’s peace in the Middle East. They’re grateful for this. I think that there’s a statement that you made that said Palestinians can return to their homes. Well, David, their homes are shattered. They have to rebuild their livelihoods, but that’s what happens in war. I completely understand that. But we also have to have an empathetic eye to those men, women and children, for example, who did not deserve to die in this battle. What I will say, though, going forward is that we need to make sure that Israel has a right to exist and Hamas is no more. We have to be able to say both of those things with a straight face. And if Donald Trump is on that path, he gets credit, but I will tell you this, that a lot of people are waiting with bated breath to see what happens tomorrow. So, thank God all of these hostages came home. I hope all of the remains of the hostages are found. And I hope one day we can actually say something that George Bush wanted us to say a long time ago, which is that we have peace in the Middle East.
This was when the wheels came off as Urban stepped in to ask Sellers why, if Trump wasn’t that instrumental as it pertained to Monday’s events, had “half the world showed up in Sharm El-Sheikh today to thank Donald Trump and this administration and acknowledge, but for Donald Trump, this would not have occurred”:
Sellers doubled down on downplaying Trump’s role and instead invoked Joe Biden, huffing he “actually had more hostages released during his deal.”
With Berman trying to rush off to break, Urban frantically interjected to point out the skepticism is premature is there’s “a 20-point plan...to be executed upon,” adding: “But Bakari, be honest. Don’t be — just be honest. Say — say great job, Donald Trump. It’s okay to do, Bakari. You’re not going to melt. You’re not going to melt.”
To see the relevant CNN transcript from October 13, click here.
