Appearing as a guest on Tuesday's CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello, liberal CNN political commentator Angela Rye hyperbolically asserted that Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan reminds her of slavery and the days when black Americans were assaulted with dogs and water hoses.
Even though the Republican presidential candidate has stated that the 1980s is an era that he believes America was "great," and has focused on jobs lost by what he believes are unfair trade deals as factors in America not being as "great" as in the past, the CNN commentator linked his slogan to the days of extreme racism against the black population: "I also think when you start your campaign with a slogan like 'Make America Great Again,' when some of us hear shackles in our minds or we hear dogs and see fire hoses, that's not an era we want to go back to."
She soon made light of the issue of blacks being disproportionately hit by crime in some communities as she soon mocked Trump for raising the issue: "The fact that he continues to say things like, 'You walk down the street without getting shot,' surprise, Carol, I made it hear this morning."
CNN host Carol Costello then pivoted to repeating a similar theory she had raised yesterday that Trump has just been talking about the problems faced by much of the black population to appeal to white Republicans as she turned to New York City Republican Councilman Joseph Borelli. Costello: "But there are some people -- some African-Americans say that Donald Trump isn't really speaking to an African-American audience when he says these things, he's really speaking to his base. Is he?"
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Tuesday, August 23, CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello:
JOSEPH BORELLI, NEW YORK CITY COUNCILMAN: It is totally within good thought and rational thought for Donald Trump to say, "What have you to lose? Youve gone in this direction for so many years. Why not consider an alternative?"
CAROL COSTELLO: Is he connecting with that message?
ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think not, Carol. I think when you look a the polling numbers, the fact that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are both doing better with the black community than Donald Trump is damning. I also think when you start your campaign with a slogan like "Make America Great Again," when some of us hear shackles in our minds or we hear dogs and see fire hoses, that's not an era we want to go back to.
The fact that he doesn't understand that the fact that he couldn't disavow the KKK and his father was presumably seen at a KKK rally. The fact that he continues to say things like, "You walk down the street without getting shot," surprise, Carol, I made it hear this morning.
I think that is really, really frustrating when you think about a group of people when their most important issue is race relations in this country, and the only thing Donald Trump has done since the beginning of his candidacy is make those race relations even worse.
COSTELLO: But there are some people -- some African-Americans say that Donald Trump isn't really speaking to an African-American audience-
RYE: That's right.
COSTELLO: -when he says these things, he's really speaking to his base. Is he?
