Cuomo NOT happy when called out for equating MAGA hat to racist symbol and insinuating bans are justified

 

A segment on CNN’s “Prime Time,” featured a discussion between host Chris Cuomo and network colleague Don Lemon on businesses banning people or denying service to those who wear MAGA hats.

It seemed clear to many that Cuomo was arguing that businesses was perfectly within its rights to ban customers simply wearing MAGA hats.

Cuomo talked about whether it was “right” to ban someone for wearing a Trump hat, focusing on how others might interpret that — to make his point, he likened wearing a MAGA hat to wearing a shirt that says “I hate black people.”

“And here’s my problem on this issue. Ordinarily, I go down the line, look, be bigger than that,” he said. “But I don’t want to fall into the trap of underselling the significance of the trigger of the expression to people. I think the more appropriate analogy to say is, if people were wearing shirts that said ‘I hate black people’, would he be okay to say don’t come into my place with that?”

Lemon responded to question whether a person “should” wear a MAGA hat, if they did have a right to.

(Lost in the mix is that the exchange is a shining example of most liberal arguments, debating the effects of something they deem to be irrefutable — in this case, a MAGA hat being the embodiment of racism and hate.)

“Again, your clothing tells a story about who you are, what you think about, and what you represent,” Lemon said.

The man who recently declared that “the biggest terror threat in this country is white men” proceeded to determine what a MAGA hat represents, projecting that opinion as established fact.

“If you’re going to wear that hat, that hat means everything from, I would say the beginning of the campaign, maybe before. Maybe that hat means the Central Park five to people. Maybe it means birtherism to people. Maybe it means Mexicans are rapists to people. And so you cannot erase those things from the story of that hat…

“It just can’t be about what you want it to be about. There are symbols and things in society that you have to take as a whole,” he concluded.

Plenty of viewers called out Cuomo for his incendiary remarks, including  MRC news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro who said Cuomo was supporting a MAGA ban. Needless to say, the CNN host didn’t take kindly to the insinuation.

Taking to Twitter to respond to a tweet from Fondacaro, Cuomo tweeted: “You are sad example of needless division. Anyone who watches sees you are lying. Be right or be quiet.”

The irony of a CNN host accusing another of “division” aside, Fondacaro did tweet a correction to say that Cuomo “was arguing for allowing businesses to ban MAGA hat wearers and to deny service.”

“A slight difference but he was still justifying the argument,” he noted.

The discussion between Cuomo and Lemon was prompted by a California chef saying, “You wear that hat into my place you’re not getting service.”

Remarking on the “legality and then the appropriateness” of banning someone with a MAGA hat, Cuomo laid out a case of why a business owner could get away with it.

“You can refuse service. You know, no shirt no shoes no service. Now you’d have a counter first amendment argument. ‘You’re chilling my rights. It’s a private place.’ Well then, how is this any different than the baker with the cake? Well, that was about refusing service to a group of people that should be a protected class.

“And unless you can argue that Trump supporters should be a protected class. I don’t think you have much of an argument on that.”

 

Back to Cuomo’s response to Fondacaro’s tweet, the MRC analyst fought back by essentially saying let’s go to the tape.

“Chris, there’s a literal video of it. I’m not the one sowing needless division. That’s you and Don,” he replied.

Here’s a sampling of more responses from Twitter:

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