CNN analysts erupt into a fiery debate over Donald Trump and the KKK


A discussion between Donald Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord and Democratic analyst Van Jones escalated quickly Tuesday, with the men ultimately shouting at each other about the KKK, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and race in America.
Jones said that Trump's success has a "dark underside," and the Republican frontrunner has been "whipping up and tapping into and pushing buttons that are very frightening to me and to a lot of people." Trump, he continued, always takes a hard line when it comes to Islamic terrorists, but is "playing funny with the Klan. That's not cool." Lord interjected to call the KKK a "leftist terrorist organization" that served as the "military arm, the terrorist arm, of the Democratic Party, according to historians."
"We're not going to play that game," Jones retorted, saying this isn't the "Democratic Party of today, so why are you bringing that up now?" He admonished Lord to "take a serious look at the fact that this man has been playing fast and loose and footsie. When he starts talking about terrorism, he gets passionate. He says, 'No, this is wrong.' But when you talk about the Klan, 'Oh, I don't know, I don't know.' That's wrong." Jones called Lord out for previously saying this was "just like when Rev. Wright was speaking. Rev. Wright never lynched anybody, Rev. Wright never killed anybody, Rev. Wright never put somebody on a post. You guys play these word games, and it's wrong."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lord accused Jones and liberalism as a whole of "dividing people by race," and said "we have to be passionate about making this country color blind." Bringing up a quote by President Kennedy, Lord continued: "Race has no place in American life or law, and that's what we have to do. We have lost that totally because the Democratic Party insists on dividing people by race. It's wrong, it's morally wrong." Watch the video below. Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland