Another illuminating exchange involved Angela Rye, Steve Cortes and Paris Dennard (black Trump supporter) on the subjects of borders and "who is threatening who."
ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I grew up in a house with an activist, Brooke. And, as an African- American, I was very privileged to grow in Seattle, where there really was a Jesse Jackson Rainbow Coalition.One of my mother's -- she's a former college administrator. One of her colleagues was a Native American man who I got to learn firsthand from what it meant to be a part of a country that took so much from you.
And to hear this woman talk about borders that we have established that didn't used to exist at one point, it's just -- it's heart- wrenching. ...
BALDWIN: I'm listening to you, and I also just want to make sure I listen to the other side. Steve, you heard that young woman, that young demonstrator with Dan. What did you hear? How would you respond to her?
STEVE CORTES, TRUMP SURROGATE: Well, you know, I want to say a couple things.
First of all, I represented the campaign. But since that's done, I want to be clear to the viewers that I'm not representing the transition team now. So, I'm just speaking as a supporter of Donald Trump and as a Latino conservative.
I would tell you this. I think one thing Trump did in this campaign and the reason he's so hugely outperformed, by the way, among Latino voters, massive surprise, on election night, I think one of the reasons is that he spoke to the American people and said that the media and the left have this twisted.
They want to act like people who are here illegally are the victims. And that's simply not the case. The victims are legal Americans, many of them, by the way, Latino themselves, who have to deal on the front lines with the pressures that are brought by so much illegal immigration, particularly wage pressure, because they have to compete with them in the labor market. ...
[Rye was visibly angry with this]
BALDWIN: Paris, let me just turn to you. And we have talked multiple times. And you say this loud and proud: I'm an African-American man who supports Donald Trump.
Can you also appreciate the fears from the young woman or from Angela or the Muslim man who drove her on Election Day? And you're also not Donald Trump, so you can't respond for him, but what can he say to the country in this precious time to say, I will unify?
PARIS DENNARD, NATIONAL DIVERSITY COALITION: Yes, I think it's important to point out a few things. One, as an African-American Trump supporter, I have had death threats. People have called me out of my name and things that I couldn't even repeat. My mother called me and said, "Paris, don't look at your Facebook page, the things that they're putting on there." She goes, "It makes me sad." ...
RYE: Paris, here's the problem with what you're saying. These are Donald Trump's own words. People are afraid because of his rhetoric. Because of the ways he ratcheted up people at his rallies and events. Perhaps there will be a distinction between candidate Trump and commander-in-chief Trump but the biggest thing we can rely upon is his records, his decades of years in business and how he treated employees, contractors, the Central Park Five.
We don't just continue to talk about the Central Park Five because there were five black and brown boys who were a part of this, it's because it's representative of a larger issue. The fact the CCA, their stock went up yesterday when he was elected, right? Like we have real issues in this country and he has to say "everything I've said for decades and everything I said on the campaign trail I didn't mean." and that's the issue.
Steve Cortes, who is on this segment with us, shame on you for invalidating this young woman's feelings, real fears about what it means to be undocumented in this country. Shame on you for calling a human being illegal. Shame on you.
CNN - November 10, 2016 3:00 pm
CNN - November 10, 2016 3:30 pm
You deserve a medal for going to the enemy.
I have not switched on CNN or MSNBC since the election.
Don’t even want to hear it.
FB has been bad enough with all the wailing and not my president stuff that I’m hardly going there.
The libs can’t understand where we are coming from and I’m tired of trying to explain it.
I was told 8 years ago and then again 4 years ago, it’s my way or the highway.
Now the shoe is in the other foot, these same people won’t accept their very words.