Tuesday morning on CNN Newsroom, CNN contributor Sally Kohn slammed Donald Trump and his supporters. Kohn argued that the billionaire real estate mogul’s rise “is troubling to anyone who cares about this country and its values.” She pointed out how Trump rose in the polls despite suggesting “the hard working moms and dads coming across the border” are mostly rapists and drug dealers.
Fellow panelist Tara Setmayer and host Carol Costello hinted that Trump’s rise is a product of his celebrity persona, and Kohn agreed, saying it’s “a legitimate point.” However, she thought there was something more “insidious” about Trump’s surge to the top of the polls. Kohn elaborated: “You know, there is disaffected, highly racialized, highly us versus them part of the American electorate that he is firing up, and that’s – Trump’s a clown. We should be worried about who he's speaking to.”
Kohn thought it would be unfair not to discuss the true reasons causing people to back Donald Trump: "[H]e's speaking to is a part of the American public that for the last seven years has felt outraged. They talk about taking the White House back. They’ve said, and he retweeted this, they want the White House, capital W-H-I-T-E again."
Setmayer pushed back, noting many of Trump’s supporters are “concerned about law and order and the fact that illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country.”
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
CNN
CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello
July 21, 2015SALLY KOHN: This is actually, genuinely one of those moments where I feel conflicted as a Progressive versus as an American. As a Progressive, there is no question that Trump's incredibly offensive statements over and over again are casting a dark light all over the entire party and making the party answer for the extent to which they stand by or distance themselves from his remarks. And I think it's a sort of – hopefully a helpful disinfectant. And obviously, it shows where Republicans are different from Democrats. On the other hand, the fact that this man is saying the things he's saying and is a major contender for the nomination for presidency is so odious and offensive. And the fact, by the way, that it took Republicans so
long to come out against him – he had to attack a war hero. Fine. What about when he attacked Mexicans and suggested that most of the hard working moms and dads coming across the border [who] are coming into this country seeking the American dream are mostly rapists and drug dealers? Where were the Republicans being all outraged about that? Why is this man surging in the polls? This is troubling to anyone who cares about this country and it values.
TARA SETMAYER: Well, I think in fairness that there's a certain element, and I’ve said this before, the cult of personality, the reality show celebrity of Donald Trump that attracts people to see what's he going to say next. You know, his persona has been built on that whole being very obnoxious and in your face and not taking anything from anybody and giving it back. So people are enamored by that. It's the same way people watch trashy talk shows. They’re enamored by the calamities that go on but they –
CAROL COSTELLO: I think Tara’s on to something. We’re a celebrity culture, and our celebrity culture has seeped into all parts of the process in the United States.
KOHN: That's a legitimate point. I think that’s fair. You know, I think that sort of covers something that's far more insidious in Trump’s rise and I think it begins with – look, his surge in the polls wasn't from the McCain thing. In fact, he's taken a hit in the polls. It was from his comments about undocumented immigrants. And it would be unfair or I think dishonest of us to not be clear that part of what he's speaking to is a part of the American public that for the last seven years has felt outraged. They talk about taking the White House back. They’ve said, and he retweeted this, they want the White House, capital W-H-I-T-E again. You know, there is disaffected, highly racialized, highly us versus them part of the American electorate that he is firing up, and that’s – Trump’s a clown. We should be worried about who he's speaking to.
SETMAYER: Well, I think that characterization is terribly unfair for people who are concerned about law and order and the fact that illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country and that people are being rewarded for breaking our laws. And then, like, there [are] criminal elements of this that is a valid aspect. The way Donald Trump came out and articulated it was not in the best terms.
