Appearing as a guest on Saturday's Smerconish show, CNN political commentator Errol Louis -- political anchor for Time Warner Cable News -- began the segment by blaming Donald Trump for violence by left-wing protesters near his appearances, and concluded the segment with an admittedly "snarky" comment as he sarcastically praised Trump because "he hasn't been endorsed by any Ku Klux Klan leaders lately, so that's one nice thing."
And, beyond suggesting that Trump's past recommendations that event attendees fight back against violent protesters had helped provoke violence, Louis at one point seemed to hint that the GOP candidate's political positions themselves were a provocation as he sounded sympathetic to the protesters' views:
But the demonstrators are saying, "Look, you want to kick us out of the country, you want to call us names, you want to try and impose a religious test on people coming into the country, we're going to go and let you hear about it." And it all starts right there.
After host Michael Smerconish recounted the recent violent protests in California near a Trump appearance, he turned to Louis and posed: "Errol, I'll begin with you. Is this the new norm, what we've just seen in California?"
Louis suggested that Trump was capable of but uninterested in "put[ting] an end to" the violence as he began his response:
Well, unfortunately, that kind of violence has been shadowing the Trump campaign. I think there's a real question as to whether or not he wants to decisively try to put an end to it, which so far he hasn't shown much sign of wanting to do. So I would expect that a lot of this is going to really sort of pollute the campaign right up until the convention.
He added:
And, look, some level of dissent and even civil disobedience is part of every presidential campaign. The question is: How far are we going to let it go before responsible voices -- and that means the candidate, that means Mr. Trump -- really try to decisively step in and try to put an end to it?
Smerconish then followed up by suggesting that, since the protesters are left-wing opponents of Trump, Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have more of a responsibility to try to quell their out of control behavior:
But, Errol, is it Mr. Trump who steps in to try and put an end to it? Or is it Bernie and Hillary, right? I mean, these people are not going to respond to what Donald Trump has to say.
As he responded, Louis stuck to his position blaming Trump, and sounded sympathetic to some of the left-wing grievances of the protesters. Louis began:
Well, I'm not so sure about that. The reality is, we've had in an unprecedented way, a candidate from the podium saying, you know, "Punch them in the face," or, you know, "Hurt him if you want to, I'll pay your legal bills," that kind of a thing.
And if we've learned anything from Dr. King over the years, is that violence creates more violence, and so if we heard from the candidate even once that he sort of wanted to really create a different kind of a tone at his rallies, there's a possibility, at least, that there'd be, at a minimum, more sympathy for him and less sympathy for the demonstrators.
He then added:
But the demonstrators are saying, "Look, you want to kick us out of the country, you want to call us names, you want to try and impose a religious test on people coming into the country, we're going to go and let you hear about it." And it all starts right there.
Nearing the end of the segment, Smerconish played a clip of a recent Trump interview on CNN's New Day in which the GOP candidate singled out Louis as being "biased" against him, and remarked that he would be "so happy" when the CNN commentator finally makes a positive comment about him.
Louis brought up the Ku Klux Klan as he sarcastically responded:
You know, unfortunately, I don't know if it's my job to try and make him happy. I don't know if that's what this race is about. And I understand trying to sort of, you know, game the refs a little bit, get a little sympathy. You know, I mean, I'm tempted to say something snarky, MIchael, like: I guess he hasn't been endorsed by any Ku Klux Klan leaders lately, so that's one nice thing.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Saturday, April 30, Smerconish on CNN:
9:07 a.m. ET
MICHAEL SMERCONISH: Errol, I'll begin with you. Is this the new norm, what we've just seen in California?ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, unfortunately, that kind of violence has been shadowing the Trump campaign. I think there's a real question as to whether or not he wants to decisively try to put an end to it, which so far he hasn't shown much sign of wanting to do. So I would expect that a lot of this is going to really sort of pollute the campaign right up until the convention.
And, look, some level of dissent and even civil disobedience is part of every presidential campaign. The question is: How far are we going to let it go before responsible voices -- and that means the candidate, that means Mr. Trump -- really try to decisively step in and try to put an end to it?
SMERCONISH: But, Errol, is it Mr. Trump who steps in to try and put an end to it? Or is it Bernie and Hillary, right? I mean, these people are not going to respond to what Donald Trump has to say.
LOUIS: Well, I'm not so sure about that. The reality is, we've had in an unprecedented way, a candidate from the podium saying, you know, "Punch them in the face," or, you know, "Hurt him if you want to, I'll pay your legal bills," that kind of a thing.
And if we've learned anything from Dr. King over the years, is that violence creates more violence, and so if we heard from the candidate even once that he sort of wanted to really create a different kind of a tone at his rallies, there's a possibility, at least, that there'd be, at a minimum, more sympathy for him and less sympathy for the demonstrators.
But the demonstrators are saying, "Look, you want to kick us out of the country, you want to call us names, you want to try and impose a religious test on people coming into the country, we're going to go and let you hear about it." And it all starts right there.
(...)
SMERCONISH I have one final item. It's for you, Errol Louis, but everybody has to watch. Roll the tape.
DONALD TRUMP: CNN is doing a very good job, although Errol is very biased against me, which is too bad.
CHRIS CUOMO: Errol Louis says that is not true, and he is very happy that you got up so early this morning.
TRUMP: Errol is totally biased, and there are others over there, but Errol is -- someday I'm going to watch him say something good about Trump, and I'll be so happy.
SMERCONISH: You want to make his day? Is this the day? What do you want to say to Mr. Trump?
LOUIS: You know, unfortunately, I don't know if it's my job to try and make him happy. I don't know if that's what this race is about. And I understand trying to sort of, you know, game the refs a little bit, get a little sympathy. You know, I mean, I'm tempted to say something snarky, MIchael, like: I guess he hasn't been endorsed by any Ku Klux Klan leaders lately, so that's one nice thing.
