Kirsten Powers said Monday on “CNN Tonight” that President Donald Trump condemning white supremacy was like “the arsonist saying they want to help put out the fire.”
WATCH:
Anchor Don Lemon began the segment by mentioning the president’s Monday morning speech condemning white supremacy following two mass shootings over the weekend — one of which has been allegedly tied to white supremacy and anti-immigrant sentiment. (RELATED: Greg Gutfeld’s Only Beef With CNN Debate Is Don Lemon’s ‘Biased Questions’)
“The president reading off of a TelePrompTer condemned racism, he condemned white supremacy. At rallies, in his Tweets, he says things that fuel those beliefs…and people who support them. We have seen this pattern before,” Lemon said, turning to USA Today’s Powers for her assessment.
“Right, it’s the arsonist saying they want to help put out the fire. He’s the one who created the fire in the first place,” she said.
“I think at a minimum it should make him feel some sort of culpability,” Powers continued. “If you look at the various ways he has used racial demagoguery to dehumanize anybody really that isn’t white. Frankly. There’s no question that he is not in a position to be claiming to be condemning white supremacy.”