After a trio of CNN political analysts pestered Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about a controversial Trump tweet on immigration during Monday’s White House press briefing, the speculation about the President’s intent continued on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront later that evening. And, of course, the only implications they could think of involved the President being a staunch racist. “And pretty much all of them are pretty racist. In fact, all of them are pretty racist,” declared Burnett.
The tweet sent out by President Trump read:
There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!
After playing a clip on their exchange during the press briefing, Burnett chastised Sanders for not giving them the answer that they wanted. “I mean, April, it's not funny, but yet I hear this, ‘it could mean a lot of things to a lot of people.’ ‘The President has recognized this as a major problem.’ But we never define what the “this” [is]. She never actually will go there,” she bitterly spat.
“Right. And that begs the question, again, what does ‘breeding’ mean,” complained CNN analyst April Ryan, who was one of the reporters pestering Sanders earlier that day. “Because some people are trying to say there was an autocorrect issue with this president. And if it was a problem he would have said: 'I made a mistake' or recorrected it or correct it what have you.”
It’s rather silly that Ryan would ask why didn’t Trump admit to making a mistake when they know perfectly well he doesn’t do that. It’s something the liberal media has complained about for a long time, even during the campaign. To use a tired-out media phrase, it’s baked in.
And to the laughter of the panel, Burnett and guest Frank Bruni, op-ed writer for The New York Times, mocked Trump for desperately needing autocorrect for his tweets:
BURNETT: By the way, if there's autocorrect for him, it would be fixing a whole lot of other spellings errors and other things, which it doesn't.
BRUNI: He needed autocorrect like nobody needed auto correct.
Bruni continued to mock the President by basically arguing that Trump was too dumb to use the word “breeding” in more than one way. “This is not a man who is artful with his language,” he opined. “The idea that he used the word breeding as a synonym for growing or spreading, that just doesn't pass the laugh test. That’s not the way Donald Trump thinks or the way he writes.”
Burnett then asserted that the only implications of Trump’s tweet were racist ones. “And obviously the word "Breeding" here, all kinds of implications, April, that can come from it. And pretty much all of them are pretty racist. In fact, all of them are pretty racist,” she exclaimed.
“Yes, because you're talking about a community that you're looking down as animals,” Ryan agreed. “It's an ugly statement.”
(H/T to Daily Caller and Amber Athey)
The relevant portions of the transcript are below, click "expand" to read:
CNN
Erin Burnett OutFront
April 23, 2018
7:35:53 PM EasternERIN BURNETT: So, April, I want to ask you about today's press briefing because it was a significant moment. You and Jim Acosta were talking to Sarah Sanders and asking about the controversial tweet by the President, the one where he wrote in part quote, “there's a revolution going on in California, so many sanctuary areas, want out of this ridiculous crime infested and breeding concept.” And everyone tried to understand what the word “breeding” could mean that was not a racist interpretation. And here is the exchange that you and Jim had with Sarah.
BURNETT: I mean, April, it's not funny, but yet I hear this, “it could mean a lot of things to a lot of people.” “The President has recognized this as a major problem.” But we never define what the “this” [is]. She never actually will go there.
APRIL RYAN: Right. And that begs the question, again, what does "breeding" mean. And, you know, I even called California Congressman Barbara Lee. She said it's disgusting, period. He meant what he said. Because some people are trying to say there was an autocorrect issue with this president. And if it was a problem he would have said: “I made a mistake” or recorrected it or correct it what have you.
BURNETT: What was it supposed to be in autocorrect even? I don’t even…
RYAN: It was supposed to be, according to some people that were talking to reporters, they said “breeding contempt.” Now if it was breeding contempt, you would change it, wouldn't you? So -- and I talked to Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, she said, ‘he meant what he said in that tweet.’ And I'm still waiting to find out what the President meant by "Breeding." I don't want to assume. And I asked her an open-ended question. But so many people can take it so many different ways, I guess. But I'm asking what the President meant.
BURNETT: You know what? If it was an autocorrect, Frank, she should have said. And it wasn’t.
FRANK BRUNI: Well, that would be a great way out of it.
BURNETT: By the way, if there's autocorrect for him, it would be fixing a whole lot of other spellings errors and other things, which it doesn't.
[Laughter from the panel]
BRUNI: He needed autocorrect like nobody needed auto correct. This is not a man who is artful with his language. The idea that he used the word breeding as a synonym for growing or spreading, that just doesn't pass the laugh test. That’s not the way Donald Trump thinks or the way he writes.
BURNETT: And obviously the word "Breeding" here, all kinds of implications, April, that can come from it. And pretty much all of them are pretty racist. In fact, all of them are pretty racist.
RYAN: Yes, because you're talking about a community that you're looking down as animals. And it's -- it's -- it's ugly. It's an ugly statement. And if this president is a president of all America, if I were a Latino American, I'm a minority American, we've heard things before. We heard s-hole comments, we've heard things about Charlottesville, we’ve heard the confederate stuff. This just builds on it. It's not normal. And let's just say, it's not normal. Well, for polite company, it's not acceptable! So if he thinks Latinos breed, that's what he thinks, but it's wrong.
BURNETT: And of course, Frank, it's the context of what he's said before, about Charlottesville and other things, that make this consistent with that, not inconsistent with that.
BRUNI: This is a President who has been obsessed with anchor babies. And you have to factor all of that in.
