CNN host Chris Cuomo told fellow CNN host Don Lemon that he was creating a “false standard” by comparing President Trump to Hitler during a transition between their two nightly shows.
“Think about the despicable people we’ve had in history. I am going to use an extreme example. Think about Hitler,” Lemon said Tuesday as the two hosts discussed Trump’s rhetoric and policies. “Think about any of those people. Would you say that that person is allowed — let’s put it this way, if you could look back on history would you say, ‘Well, I’m so glad that that person was allowed a platform so that they could spread their hate and propaganda and lies?’ Or would you say it probably wasn’t the right thing to do to spread that because you knew in the moment that that was a bad person and they were doing bad things. Not only were they hurting people, they were killing people.”
“I think the example matters,” Cuomo cut in. “And that’s a very extreme example.”
“But laws, rhetoric, and policy are detrimental to people,” Lemon said before saying Trump’s policies and rhetoric could be a “life or death issue for people like me.”
“Demonizing immigrants and talking about ‘shithole countries’ and saying that ‘there were very fine people on both sides.’ For people of color in this country, it is a life or death issue,” Lemon said. “So I’m just saying we just need to be careful about having ‘these are standard rules.’ This is not standard. This is not normal.”
“I don’t think it’s standard, I don’t think it’s normal,” Cuomo responded. “However, we talk about this and it’s good that we do. Comparing anything to an extreme like a Hitler weakens the argument.”
“It’s creating a false standard,” Cuomo added. “A guy who says things that I don’t like, whose abusive of the truth, who can be obnoxious for effect, and pander to a group of people in this country is not necessarily a step away from a genocidal maniac.”
“It starts with little lies. That become bigger lies. And it starts with people who become brainwashed,” Lemon said.
“I just think you should go one step at a time,” Cuomo said before Lemon ended the conversation.
The duos conversation came after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the United States is running concentration camps along its southern border. The comments spurred a debate about whether it was appropriate to make comparisons between the Holocaust and the current administration.
