The lead segment in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour of Tuesday’s CNN Newsroom featured quite the display of verbal fireworks as conservative writer Kurt Schlichter angered fill-in host Don Lemon when he invoked the Clinton sex scandals of the 1990's with former President Clinton turning “his intern into a humidor” while discussing vulgar comments made by Donald Trump.
Lemon eventually became so unamused with Schlichter reminding viewers of Hillary Clinton’s decision to stand behind her “serial sexual abuser” husband that the CNN anchor cut both Schlichter’s microphone and the segment short.
The segment was originally set to harp on Trump’s usage of the sexual slang term “schlonged” to describe how thoroughly Clinton was defeated by then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 as well as mocking her for taking a long bathroom break in Saturday’s debate.
Asked by Lemon if he was offended by Trump’s comments, Schlichter first responded by turning the tables by invoking former President Clinton in that it will have “take a lot more for me to get upset at a woman who enabled a guy who turned the Oval Office into a frat house and his intern into a humidor.”
Adding that he doesn’t particularly care for what Trump said, Schlichter hit back at Lemon and the news media for being “ridiculous” and forcing conservatives like him who don’t like Trump to come on television and “defend” him.
While Lemon let that first Clinton reference slide, he wondered if it was fair for the media to spending so much time over what Trump said Monday night to which Schlichter zinged: “Well, I don't think it's unfair, I just think it's silly. Look, he's running against Hillary Clinton. He’s running against a sexual harasser and an abuser's enabler, so, again, I don't know why we're not talking about that.”
Lemon then became frustrated and lamented that what the Clintons did in the 1990's “has nothing to do with” the present day’s politics and especially since Hillary is “not her husband.”
“You're talking about something that happened over a decade ago. The man has been impeached for it. She is not responsible for her husband's actions. Yet, you're bringing it into a campaign and it doesn't seem fair,” complained Lemon.
Not deterred by any stretch, Schlichter fired back and the final moments of the segment descended into chaos as Lemon cut both the conservative’s mic as well as sent the show to commercial break:
SCHLICHTER: I would like to bring Hillary Clinton's actions into it. When she was given the choice between standing with a serial sexual abuser and with women who are being violated —
LEMON: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. That's not fair.
SCHLICHTER: — by a serious sexual harasser. That is fair.
LEMON: It is not fair. It is not fair. It is a low blow. I want to end this. This is the lowest of the low and it has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton. It is just a cheap shot — can you please stop. Cut him off please. Thank you. We're done. Thank you. We'll be right back.
The relevant portions of the transcript from the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour of CNN Newsroom on December 22 can be found below.
CNN Newsroom
December 22, 2015
3:06 p.m. Eastern
DONALD TRUMP: I know where she went. It's disgusting. I don't want to talk about it. No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it. It's disgusting. We want to be very straight up, okay? But I thought — wasn't that a weird deal? We're ready to start and they were looking. They gave her every benefit of the doubt because, you know, it's ABC and she practically owns ABC. She really does.
(....)
LEMON: [W]e're discussing the comment and whether it's appropriate for someone running as a leader of the free world to make comments about a woman going to the restroom or whether someone was, as he said, schlonged or not. Mr. Schlichter, what do you think of that, Kurt?
KURT SCHLICHTER: Don, it's going to take a lot more for me to get upset at a woman who enabled a guy who turned the Oval Office into a frat house and his intern into a humidor. I just don't care. I so don't care. I would need Steven Hawking to find the theortically limit of how little I care about Donald Trump's silly jokes. It's hypocritical, you know, pearly-collection nonsense. That Donald Trump is vulgar and mean and I can't stand Donald Trump. I’m the guy who comes on – and this is why I hate the media, Don because you make me defend Donald Trump. This is ridiculous
LEMON: And yet you're here with us. You hate us enough that you're here every time we ask you.
SCHLICHTER: I’m on here everytime talking about his potty mouth.
LEMON: Listen, so even though you say you hate Donald Trump, right? Am I putting words in your mouth.
SCHLICHTER: I don't hate Donald Trump. He's a very nice guy who I don't think should be president.
LEMON: Have you ever heard a presidential candidate say things like this?
SCHLICHTER: No, but I know of a President who, well, turned his intern into a humidor, so we set the standard a little lower than Donald Trump has even approached.
(....)LEMON: So my question to you, without mentioning the Clintons and Bill Clinton — let me finish my statement — which has already been litigated and relitigated on the own merits, Donald Trump's statements on the campaign trail. You don't think it's fair that the media should be covering it?
SCHLICHTER: Well, I don't think it's unfair, I just think it's silly. Look, he's running against Hillary Clinton. He’s running against a sexual harasser and an abuser's enabler, so, again, I don't know why we're not talking about that. It has been litigated.
LEMON: But we're not talking about that because it has nothing to do with what happened. She's not her husband. Her husband was been impeached over that.
GRANT: Donald Trump is not known to be politically correct.
LEMON: Hold on, guys. Both of you are talking over me. Let me finish and then first Kurt and then I’ll let you respond. You're talking about something that happened over a decade ago. The man has been impeached for it. She is not responsible for her husband's actions. Yet, you're bringing it into a campaign and it doesn't seem fair. What if you did the same thing with Donald Trump from something his spouse or his father? If someone else did in his family? It has nothing to do with him running for president. We're talking about his own actions, his own individual merit, so if you’re going to talk about Hillary Clinton, then bring Hillary Clinton’s actions into it. Don't bring the her husband's actions into it.
SCHLICHTER: I would like to bring Hillary Clinton's actions into it. When she was given the choice between standing with a serial sexual abuser and with women who are being violated —
LEMON: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. That's not fair.
SCHLICHTER: — by a serious sexual harasser. That is fair.
LEMON: It is not fair. It is not fair. It is a low blow. I want to end this. This is the lowest of the low and it has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton. It is just a cheap shot — can you please stop. Cut him off please. Thank you. We're done. Thank you. We'll be right back.
