On Monday's CNN Tonight, correspondent Sara Sidner recalled reports of an 11 percent increase in hate crimes in California, but did not put into context that the state has recently suffered a general increase in violent crime -- that is about in line with the hate crime increase -- that has been linked to the release of many formerly incarcerated criminals.
In the next segment, liberal CNN commentator Bakari Sellers tried to implicate President Donald Trump as he asserted that the President "did light a fire" to "racism," "anti-Semitism," "misogyny," "bigotry," and "xenophobia" even if he did not "invent" them.
At 11:35 p.m. ET, Sidner filed a pre-recorded report recalling a recent harassment campaign against a Jewish real estate agent in Montana carried out by readers of a white supremacist website. After the piece concluded, host Don Lemon wondered if the "political climate" -- presumably referring to Donald Trump -- was linked to such behavior. Lemon: "Is there any sense that this political climate, Sara, that we're living in right now, is it egging on these kinds of hatemongers on social media or just in general?"
Sidner recounted statistics on the increase in hate crimes -- specifically a recent report about California -- as she responded:
You know, it's interesting that you ask that because we asked that very question to Tanya Gersh herself and her family, and she said to me, "Look, I don't want to look at this as politics."
But when you look at the overall picture, you look at the Southern Poverty Law Center, for example, or the Anti-Defamation League, or even the FBI, the statistics are showing that the numbers of hate incidents are up across the country. California, for example, where I am right now, just had a report out this past week saying the hate incidents are up about 11 percent this year.
She added:
So, yes, indeed, there are a lot of people looking at this and saying, "You know what, the political climate we're living in is egging some of these folks on and giving them more of a voice paying attention to them."
Not mentioned by Sidner is that violent crime in California has increased each of the last couple of years with conservatives placing blame on a prison reform plan that released criminals back into the population. So Sidner cherry-picked one category of crime that liberals often link to their caricature of right-wing whites targeting minorities.
Also of note, the most recent FBI annual statistics on hate crimes in the U.S. released last November finds that, of all hate crimes whose perpetrators could be identified by race, 42 percent were committed by minorities, undermining the stereotype that hate crimes are committed by whites against minorities.
In the next segment, during a discussion of how current political discourse might tie into the Montana harassment case, liberal CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers complained that President Donald Trump has not done enough to speak out against hate, and accused the President of "lighting a fire" to different types of bigotry. Sellers: "I think that Donald Trump didn't invent racism. I mean, Donald Trump didn't invent anti-Semitism or misogyny or bigotry or xenophobia. He did light a fire to it..."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Monday, July 10, CNN Tonight:
11:35 p.m. Eastern
DON LEMON: Is there any sense that this political climate, Sara, that we're living in right now, is it egging on these kinds of hatemongers on social media or just in general?
SARA SIDNER: You know, it's interesting that you ask that because we asked that very question to Tanya Gersh herself and her family, and she said to me, "Look, I don't want to look at this as politics." But when you look at the overall picture, you look at the Southern Poverty Law Center, for example, or the Anti-Defamation League, or even the FBI, the statistics are showing that the numbers of hate incidents are up across the country. California, for example, where I am right now, just had a report out this past week saying the hate incidents are up about 11 percent this year. So, yes, indeed, there are a lot of people looking at this and saying, "You know what, the political climate we're living in is egging some of these folks on and giving them more of a voice paying attention to them."
(...)
11:44 p.m. Eastern
LEMON: I think it's interesting, Matt, because you think that the Trump White House is the result of a rise in hate incidents of groups rather than a catalyst for it. Why is that?
MATT LEWIS: Well, I, here's what I think. Clearly, Donald Trump's candidacy and presidency excited some of the, you know, Alt-Righters and white supremacists. There's no doubt about that. But, by and large, when I look at these cultural trends, I think Donald Trump is more a product or a symptom of these trends than he is the catalyst of them. So, for example, whether it's the reality show phenomenon that we have right now, or whether it is the troll culture, the memes, Donald Trump capitalized on that. He didn't invent it, but I think he's -- we get the politicians that we deserve, and he's sort of the man of the hour.
LEMON: Who's saying correct on that? I couldn't see who it was.
BAKARI SELLERS: I said that was correct. I mean, I think that Donald Trump didn't invent racism. I mean, Donald Trump didn't invent anti-Semitism or misogyny or bigotry or xenophobia. He did light a fire to it, and, just to the point of my colleague who's on the panel with us tonight, you know, yeah, this isn't a left or right issue, this is an American issue that we can all stand up and speak out against. You know, my response to that is: Okay, I agree with you. Why don't you tell your President to speak out against it? The lone voice that's missing from this condemnation of this hate speech on the internet, social media, in bathrooms, wherever it is, is Donald Trump. And the fact that no one can see that, the fact that no one wants to say that, I mean, that in itself is cowardly. So, if we want to have a conversation about "how do we stop this speech?" let's start with the quote, unquote, "leader of the free world."
