Things got really hot at CNN last night; political commentators, Simple McRole Singleton and Ana Navarro, almost drew blood while debating tumultuously on the gallows with the deportation policies of Donald J. Trump. So hot was that exchange that even Abby Phillip had to cut to commercial. And let’s just say, Twitter had plenty to say.
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It started out with Navarro, a seasoned GOP strategist, proclaiming, “I have advocated for black people my whole life.” That apparently got Singleton riled up. “Wonderful. Well, last time I checked, I’m black, and you’re not, okay?” Oof. That one hurts.
The clip, released by Collin Rugg, went viral and got lots of reactions, which were largely found her to be enjoying the drama, like @ColeusFilius, who cheekily added, “That almost makes me want to subscribe to cable.🍿.” Others were just over it: “Shut up and stop opinionating news and just tell the news. The media has become glorified talk shows,” said @JennyYarbr96391.
But for most of the other eyewitnesses, it was not about the shouting-the fighting. Navarro tried to link Black Americans brought here as slaves and undocumented immigrants of today. Singleton was not buying it and neither were a multitude of people on Twitter. @cryptonautaz called it “pure insanity,” writing, “Not surprised that Navarro is equating slaves being sold and transported against their will to Mexicans WILLINGLY coming here and breaking our laws.”
Some watchers, however, such as @yospock, gave a personal response to cushion their sentiments: “I am a Latina immigrant and I completely support illegal aliens, which include ‘my people’ to be sent back home ASAP.” More sarcastic was @MarvinZimmler: “Something about getting enslaved in that malarial wilderness with hostile Indians is now equivalent to flying into Miami and signing up for food stamps. Yep.”
Of course, not everyone turns out to be on Singleton’s side. @JacobMartin8 questioned the assumption of the debate by saying, “Why do liberals that disagree with someone who happens to be black have to rub its face by reminding him of some of his people’s ancestors being slaves?” @Ubi_est_veritas, on the other hand, just wants to put all this to rest: “You could never make me watch this show. Yelling, shouting over each other all the time. It’s Hell.”
By the end of the day, this felt like yet another vignette into the culture wars. “There are no winners in the daily victimhood competitions of the left,” noted @C0LDSH0T. And quite frankly, he’s right. Good or bad, it’s a sure thing: CNN’s probably got a nice little bump in the ratings due to all this ruckus.
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So what? Maybe through conflict, cable news strengthens itself, or perhaps some arguments are simply too gnarly for a five-minute segment. Either way, grab your popcorn, because this is probably not the last ’round’ we will see like this.