On Tuesday's New Day, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo suggested that, when President Donald Trump spoke out against athletes kneeling during the National Anthem, the President was trying to "out-ugly-American" Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. The CNN host also fretted over Trump commenting via Twitter that there was a "great" amount of "anger" in the U.S. over the unpatriotic behavior.
At about 6:12 a.m. ET, after asserting that Trump had "seeded false culture war" with the comments, the CNN host suggested that Moore had been "out-ugly-American-ing' Trump as he added:
Of course he's going to look at this NFL and say, "This is easy, especially with this Luther Strange situation going on. Roy Moore is out-ugly-American-ing me. I will take care of that right now with the NFL." It's got to be working for him.
At about 7:13 a.m. ET, during another discussion, Cuomo seemed to misunderstand Trump's comment that there had been a large amount of "anger" over the issue as the CNN host highlighted:
He's tweeting about the NFL, and the language he is using really deserves examination. ... "Great anger." Who says those words? There is nothing great about anger. Yet, to the President, he sees negativity directed at these people on the field as a good thing. How is it a good thing?
A bit later in the hour, during a debate between left-wing Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson and conservative author Ed Martin, Cuomo again fretted over Trump's choice of words:
Why is his response to this to do little more than fan the flames of the division? He hasn't advanced any part of this larger dialogue, Ed. Look at his own tweets. "They booed loudly last night. Great anger."
He then added:
"When the Dallas Cowboys dropped to their knees as a team, they all stood up for our anthem." "Great progress being made." Does he say "progress" on better policing? Does he say "progress" on community interactions between black and white? No, he doesn't say any of that. He doesn't elevate a damn thing, Ed. He traffics in the division.
After Martin began his response by recalling, "I agree he tweets on certain subjects, it gets him into his rhythm," Cuomo pushed back:
What rhythm, Ed? What rhythm is "I love the anger directed towards the Dallas Cowboys. That's great anger."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Tuesday, September 26, New Day on CNN:
6:12 a.m. ET
CHRIS CUOMO: He's got a great ear for cultural divide. Why do you think he dove --dived -- what is it, dove or dived? Which is it? Dove? Dove into the NFL situation? This was a no-brainer. I don't even understand the lack of understanding as to why he did this. This is a no-brainer. He loves the culture wars. He always has. He has seeded false culture war.
Cuomo: Trump Spoke Out on Anthem Because Roy Moore Was 'Out-Ugly-American-ing' Him
Of course he's going to look at this NFL and say, "This is easy, especially with this Luther Strange situation going on. Roy Moore is out-ugly-American-ing me. I will take care of that right now with the NFL." It's got to be working for him.
(...)
7:13 a.m. ET
CUOMO: He's tweeting about the NFL, and the language he is using really deserves examination. Forget about for current conversation that it was the "loudest he ever heard" at the Dallas game. Who knows if that's true? It's true in his mind -- that's good enough. "Great anger." Who says those words? There is nothing great about anger. Yet, to the President, he sees negativity directed at these people on the field as a good thing. How is it a good thing?
(...)
7:29 a.m. ET
CUOMO: Why is his response to this to do little more than fan the flames of the division? He hasn't advanced any part of this larger dialogue, Ed. Look at his own tweets. "They booed loudly last night. Great anger."
"When the Dallas Cowboys dropped to their knees as a team, they all stood up for our anthem." "Great progress being made." Does he say "progress" on better policing? Does he say "progress" on community interactions between black and white? No, he doesn't say any of that. He doesn't elevate a damn thing, Ed. He traffics in the division.
ED MARTIN, AUTHOR OF THE CONSERVATIVE CASE FOR TRUMP: No, Chris, come on. Look, first of all, you want to pick out tweets -- I agree he tweets on certain subjects, it gets him into his rhythm. He also --
CUOMO: Rhythm? What rhythm? What rhythm, Ed? What rhythm is "I love the anger directed towards the Dallas Cowboys. That's great anger."
MARTIN: Nobody said, "I love the anger."
CUOMO: "Great anger." "The loudest booing I've ever heard. Great anger." What does that mean? Is he upset about it?
MARTIN: No, there is anger. The country is fed up with this. We're fed up with --
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: What part of the country?
MARTIN: The part of the country that won the election!
