Ana Navarro and Van Jones have been two of CNN’s most outspoken critics against President Donald Trump. The two were at it again on Thursday night, butting heads with two Trump supporters during a CNN panel on the eve of Trump’s inauguration.
The two were specifically targeting Trump’s cabinet picks for being overwhelmingly white, and brought up the fact that Trump was the first president since Ronald Reagan to not include a Latino in his cabinet. One of the Trump supporters, Jeffrey Lord, countered by naming people of color that Trump had nominated for positions, and he also cited Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“He wanted Americans, he wanted his children to be judged by the content of their character and not skin color.”
This did not sit well with Jones and Navarro. Jones made an observation about the modern Republican party:
“I think that there is a split in the Republican Party. There are people like yourself and others who I do think have a nuanced view but I do think you have people have taken up residence in your party that make the point that Jeff makes every time that we’re just somehow coloring by numbers and our points aren’t valid.”
Paris Dennard tries to continue Lord’s point about getting the best qualified person for the job, rather than just a “Hispanic face” in the cabinet. That’s when Navarro unleashes this tirade:
“OK, but you’re going to tell me Ben Carson is the best person with an understanding of housing in the United States of America? You’re going to tell me that Betsy DeVos, whose hearing felt like she’d fallen on her head as a baby, has got the best understanding of education in the United States of America?”
Navarro’s issue stemmed from the implication that there were no qualified minorities for Trump’s cabinet.
Like so many CNN panels of late, it descended into a shouting match after Navarro insulted Carson and DeVos. To his credit, Van Jones just smiled and gave the floor to the fired-up Navarro. Watch the full clip below:
Featured Image via YouTube Screengrab
