On Friday’s Edition of New Day, co-host John Berman took serious issue with one of President Trump’s statements made about immigration in an interview with the British tabloid, The Sun, calling Trump’s comments a “dog whistle.”
Here’s what Trump said that set off Berman:
I think what is happening in Europe is a shame, I think the immigration, allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe. And unless you act very quickly it’s never going to be what it was, and I don’t mean that in a positive way.
Berman brought that up again during New Day’s second hour where he clarified what he meant by a “dog whistle” and tacitly invoked Nazism:
This is the language of the far right in Europe. I'm not sure that some of the far right would go this far. Marine Le Pen in France for instance might be more careful than saying those things. The phrase losing its culture seems to me to mean very specific and harkens back to some language that has been very damaging in European history.
In referring to the damaging language in European history, Berman seems to be alluding to the treatment of Jewish people under Nazi Germany. While more subdued than other statements made hosts and guest across cable news, this is the same absurd “Trump is a Nazi” screech that continues to deteriorate the reputation of the liberal media on a daily basis.
Berman backed up this rhetoric with a tweet posted this morning.
Simply raising concerns over how mass migration might have negative effects on culture is not an excuse to make veiled Nazi comparisons. It speaks to why so few people trust CNN’s coverage of the news. Their hysterical hyperbole doesn’t do them any favors.
Transcripts of the relevent segments are below.
New Day with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman
6:16:08 – 6:16:35
John Berman: When you say you're changing the culture of a place --
Christiane Amanpour Well you know what that means, it's very ugly.
Berman: That is a dog whistle Matthew, you are saying --
Matthew Doyle: It's not just a dog whistle, it's a full on siren and alarm call. This is like the sort of language we thought was gone from our politics. That's why I say so many Brits are troubled about the way in which --
Berman: This is apparently tape that we're seeing from moments ago when he arrived at checkers from moments ago.
…
7:12:42 – 7:14:04
Berman: I want to talk about immigration, and not just immigration but statements President Trump made about the fabric of Europe. He said that Europe is losing its culture. Let me just play it again, it’s just seventeen seconds now because I want this to sink in for people.
Donald Trump: I think what is happening in Europe is a shame, I think the immigration, allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe. And unless you act very quickly it’s never going to be what it was, and I don’t mean that in a positive way.Berman: This is the language of the far right in Europe. I'm not sure that some of the far right would go this far. Marine Le Pen in France for instance might be more careful than saying those things. The phrase losing its culture seems to me to mean very specific and harkens back to some language that has been very damaging in European history.
Ian Bremmer: I think Marine Le Pen would be very comfortable with that language. Donald Trump is the one modern president that I have ever seen – when he talks about my people he is not talking about all Americans. He is not talking about Black Americans; he is talking about Trump supporters. He is more than willing to couch that when useful in identity politics terms. You are absolutely right that it harkens back to unfortunate periods in European history. But it also points to the momentum politically today.
