CNN criticized for interviewing white supremacist Richard Spencer

“[Trump] gives us nothing outside of racist tweets, and by racist tweets I mean tweets that are meaningless and cheap and express the kind of sentiments you might hear from your drunk uncle while he is watching Hannity,” Spencer said.

The interview quickly resulted in backlash for the network with Spencer’s name briefly trending on Twitter. Many said that the network should not have given Spencer the platform.

In a three-tweet thread Sunday morning, the president advised that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts go back to their countries of origin to help them if they are unhappy with the U.S.

The president has since doubled down repeatedly, maintaining that his statements were not racist. The members of Congress didn’t back down either, with Congress passing a resolution condemning the president’s statements Tuesday night.

CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter addressed the controversy in his newsletter Tuesday night.

“Does a figure like Spencer disappear into the darkness when news outlets pretend he’s not there? I respect that argument, but don’t think so. To say that figures like Spencer should never ever be interviewed on air seems like a black and white answer in a world of gray,” he wrote. “Instead, it should be about ‘how’ they are incorporated into the coverage. And that’s an important conversation to keep having …”

The network did not immediately return a request for comment.