Fox News reportedly suspends former Trump aide for 'cotton-picking' remark

Fox News has suspended contributor David Bossie, who once served as President Trump's deputy campaign manager, for two weeks, The Daily Beast reports.

On Sunday morning, Bossie appeared alongside Democratic strategist Joel Payne on Fox & Friends, and during an exchange, Bossie told Payne, who is black, "You're out of your cotton-picking mind." Payne was incredulous, and responded, "I have some relatives who picked cotton, and I'm not going to sit back and let you attack me on TV like that."

Bossie remains an adviser to Trump, who has called him one of his top "warriors," The Daily Beast reports. After the incident, Fox News released a statement calling Bossie's comments "deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments of Fox News and we do not in any way condone them." Bossie also apologized for using an "offensive phrase." Bossie and Fox News did not respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment.

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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.