Ex-Trump official apologizes for telling black pundit 'you're out of your cotton-picking mind'

David Bossie.
(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

David Bossie, who once served as President Trump's deputy campaign manager, 
apologized on Sunday after appearing on Fox & Friends and telling his fellow panelist, Joel Payne, he was out of his "cotton-picking mind."

The show's host, Ed Henry, later said Bossie's comments were "obviously offensive," and he wanted to "make clear Fox News and this show, myself, we don't agree with that particular phrase." Bossie tweeted his apology, saying, "During a heated segment on Fox & Friends today, I should have chosen my words more carefully and never used the offensive phrase that I did. I apologize to Joel Payne, Fox News, and its viewers." Payne told MSNBC he has accepted Bossie's apology, but felt "demeaned" and struggled to keep his composure. "Unfortunately, that's par for the course for this president and the people who surround him," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

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.