In what looked like a vile display of racism, former Trump adviser David Bossie told black Democratic strategist Joel Payne that he is “out of [his] cotton-picking mind,” The Hill reports.
Visibly shocked and taken aback, Payne responded.
“Cotton-picking mind? Brother, let me tell you something, I got some relatives who picked cotton and I’m not going to sit back and let you attack me on TV like that.”
Bossie and Payne were discussing Donald Trump’s family separation policy. To be more precise, the two were discussing former CIA director Michael Hayden posting a photo of Auschwitz in reference to Trump’s policy.
Fox News host Ed Henry said that David Bossie used a phrase that had “clearly offended” Joel Payne and others, although he added that he did not know for sure what Bossie meant when he said Payne was out of his “cotton-picking mind.”
“But I want to make sure that Fox News and this show, myself, we don’t agree with that particular phrase. It was obviously offensive and these debates get fiery, that’s unfortunate. We like to have honest and spirited debates, but not phrases like that, obviously,” Henry concluded.
Bossie is the second Trump Campaign-affiliated individual to come under public scrutiny for on-air comments this week. As Business Insider reported, former Trump Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski mocked an anecdote about a 10-year-old migrant girl with Down syndrome. Lewandowski appeared to mockingly say “womp, womp,” shocking the other guest, Zac Petkanas.
David Bossie seems to have taken things even further, and the host, Ed Henry, had a hard time calming his guests down, as both of them started yelling at each other. “He said ‘you’re out of your mind. Gentlemen, we’re gonna leave it right there,” the host said, insisting that the three end the show on a “civil note,” seemingly cherry-picking and ignoring the full extent of Bossie’s comment.
On Fox News, David Bossie, former Trump Deputy Campaign Manager, telling a black panelist that he’s “out of his cotton-picking mind.” pic.twitter.com/wpoqHKbINw
— Yashar Ali ? ????? (@yashar) June 24, 2018
More recently, as Think Progress reported, Fox News defended comedian Roseanne Barr, following her racist twitter rant. “I don’t understand it to be anything other than free speech,” one of the hosts said, while Republican Noelle Nikpour argued that Roseanne simply has a “twisted sense of humor.”
Barr, according to Think Progress , has a long history of making racist comments, but she seems to be enjoying support from Fox News .
Unlike Roseanne, David Bossie is not a comedian, so it remains to be seen how Fox News panelists will respond to this exploding scandal.
Editor’s note: Fox News reached out to the Inquisitr with the following statement and the following tweet from Bossie.
“David Bossie’s comments today were deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments of FOX News and we do not in any way condone them.”
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.
— David Bossie (@David_Bossie) June 24, 2018
