A CNN panel grew increasingly frustrated on Monday night as former GOP Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY) dodged calls to condemn racist comments made at a recent Donald Trump rally in New York City. Zeldin, appearing on CNN’s program with anchor Kaitlan Collins, repeatedly diverted from addressing the content of the rally, shifting the conversation toward unrelated topics such as Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and MSNBC.
Conservative commentator S.E. Cupp voiced her frustration with Zeldin’s reluctance to directly address the inflammatory remarks. “Why is this Kamala Harris’ problem? This is the Republican Party’s problem,” Cupp pressed. “You’re a good conservative, Lee. I know you. Why can’t you say that that was garbage?!”
Zeldin, however, sidestepped the question and appeared to deflect onto unrelated comparisons. “Would you say that that’s a Nazi rally? Would you say that Trump is Hitler?” he asked, attempting to shift the focus.
Cupp quickly clarified, “I didn’t say that.”
Zeldin responded, “No, you wouldn’t, you didn’t, but the problem is Hillary Clinton did,” referring to past comments made by Clinton rather than addressing the rally’s content. As the conversation looped back to the rally, Cupp persisted, again appealing to Zeldin’s conservative values.
She reminded him that denouncing the rally’s rhetoric didn’t require a wholesale disavowal of Trump’s policies. “It doesn’t take a lot of courage to say on the policies I’m with him, but this is garbage,” she concluded.
Zeldin’s continued reluctance to acknowledge the problematic nature of the rally left the CNN panel exasperated, with some panelists, including Collins, attempting to steer the discussion back to the original point. Ultimately, Zeldin’s stance illustrated the challenging political dynamics within the GOP when faced with calls to confront divisive and racially charged rhetoric from its prominent figures.