Conservative commentator Jeffrey Lord sparked online outrage after he compared President Trump to Martin Luther King on the issue of healthcare.
“I want to say something here that I know will probably drive Symone crazy,” Lord said during a discussion Thursday morning with former Bernie Sanders campaign spokeswoman Symone Sanders. “But think of President Trump as the Martin Luther King of healthcare.”
“Oh, Jeffrey! Jeffrey! Jeffrey!” a visibly shocked Sanders said, as Lord continued his explanation.
“When I was a kid, President Kennedy did not want to introduce the civil rights bill. He didn’t have the votes for it. Dr. King kept putting people in the streets in harm’s way to put the pressure on so that the bill would be introduced. That’s what finally worked,” Lord said.
“So let’s not equate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize winner, to the vagina-grabbing President Donald Trump,” Sanders retorted.
Embarrassing: why does CNN allow this (via Skype). There are thoughtful, credible R’s who can talk about the health care debate. https://t.co/7KvoqUFbxT
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) April 13, 2017
The remark also drew a harsh rebuke from former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien who tweeted, “Embarrassing: why does CNN allow this (via Skype). There are thoughtful, credible Republicans who can talk about the health care debate.”
