CNN's Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper don't mince words: Trump's comments were 'racist'

"Not racial, not racially charged, racist."
 By 
Keith Wagstaff
 on 
CNN's Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper don't mince words: Trump's comments were 'racist'
The Pentagon isn't complying with Trump's orders to band transgender people from the military. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Nobody should be surprised Donald Trump said something racist. Before election day, he said many undocumented Mexican immigrants were "rapists" and criminals, and his company was sued by the Justice Department for discriminating against black tenants -- way back in 1973.

And yet, he continues to outdo himself. "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" he reportedly said on Thursday, referring to people from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries. He then suggested bringing in more immigrants from Norway -- you know, white people.

On CNN, Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper had enough. "He is a racist," Lemon said of the president, before telling Trump supporters to take a good, hard look at themselves.

Then, Anderson Cooper took Trump to task, calling his comments "not racial, not racially charged, racist."

The White House hasn't denied Trump made the comment, which might be hard to do, since there was reportedly a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the room.

And, really, it's not like America didn't know he was racist before the election. And the country elected him anyway. Still, 68 percent of Americans believe openness to the outside world is "essential to who we are as a nation," according to a Pew Research poll from August. Hopefully, they'll make their voices heard in the coming elections.

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Keith Wagstaff

Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.

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