Among the many heated arguments that have taken place between critics of Trump's response to Charlottesville and surrogates who remain steadfast in defending the President, there was one explosive exchange between professor Cornel West and Trump surrogate Paris Dennard, that flew under the radar over the past few days.
West and Dennard rung in the week as guests of CNN's AC360, and while they remained relatively respectful, things definitely got testy as West pushed for Dennard to keep it real following what was acknowledged by most to have been a low point in Trump's Presidency. The back and forth took off when after insisting that Trump had indeed rebuked white supremacy despite initially failing to specify a group, Dennard was challenged by West to hold the President accountable.
"Brother Paris, you got check mated by brother Anderson. You know the President was lying, he knows about David Duke, he knows about white supremacy. He's been in America for a good while. You've got to defend him in order to keep your job, we understand that," West said, which ticked Dennard off for its implication that his defense of the President didn't come from his own conviction. West would add his own perspective on the presence of anti-fascist protesters and the distinctly different intention he sees them as having been there with. But after attacking Dennard's character, their dialogue got personal. "Dr. West, my brother, please don't insinuate that I wasn't raised correctly and please don't insinuate when you don't have the facts about who employs me," Dennard fired back.
West appeared to keep a level head, and kept his tone even keeled and gentle, but he didn't keep from questioning Dennard's integrity, stating, "Let's just be honest man. Much is at stake. This is not no corporate media game we're playing here in order to pursue our careers. That's not what I'm into, and I pray god that is not what you are fundamentally into either."
