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Herschel Walker has come to the defense of Kanye West, criticizing CNN commentators for their remarks about West and his race in a segment relating to his support of President Donald Trump.
West has been a vocal Trump supporter, and he met with the president in the Oval Office on October 11, 2018, causing more controversy. Football great Herschel Walker was upset about a segment in which CNN’s Don Lemon presided over a discussion panel that included commentators Tara Setmayer and Bakari Sellers.
Lemon asked the panel whether the president was “using Kanye as a prop to win over black voters before the midterms.” That sparked a round of criticism on the show of Kanye West. “Anti-intellectualism simply isn’t cool,” Bakari Sellers said. “Kanye West is what happens when Negros don’t read.”
Lemon and Setmayer laughed, and then Setmayer, who said Sellers’ reference was from an old Chris Rock routine, called West “the token negro of the Trump administration.” Some have derided the comments as racist. Enter Herschel Walker, who weighed in on Twitter in defense of West. Seymayer also called West an “attention whore like the president.” You can watch the exchange on video here:
.@Bakari_Sellers: “My issue with Kanye West is quite simple — is that anti-intellectualism simply isn’t cool.” t.co/FVeCRODqXl
Here’s what you need to know:
Herschel Walker Called the CNN Comments ‘Shameful’ & Questioned Why The Three Remained on the Air
On Twitter, Herschel Walker wrote, “Went to bed appalled over @donlemon despicable behavior laughing at @TaraSetmayer and @Bakari_Sellers awful remarks about Kanye West’s visit with @realDonaldTrump!! Woke up wondering why @CNN doesn’t take all three off the air? #SHAMEFUL #CNN.”
Herschel Walker has been a public supporter of Donald Trump and previously said the support was costing him speaking engagements.
Setmayer responded to Walker on Twitter. She wrote, “Bless your heart. You want to silence me because I expressed a different opinion than yours? Because I called out Kanye for what he is? Uninformed! I’m an actual conservative, who’s worked on policy advancing those principles for 20+yrs. I’ll never be a shill for Trump.”
Herschel Walker responded to that: “No …@TaraSetmayer, anyone that is African American with an opinion different than yours, you want to call them out by using the N-word and @donlemon is laughing?? To me that’s bullying and shameful!!”
According to her bio, Tara Setmayer “is a CNN Political Commentator, ABC News Political Contributor and former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill. She is currently the host of ‘Honestly Speaking with Tara,’ podcast. Tara regularly appears on CNN’s prime time programs and contributes to ABC’s The View, Good Morning America and HBO’s Real Time w/Bill Maher.” She previously worked as Communications Director for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) for seven years.
Bakari Sellers’ bio says he is a former member of the South Carolina House of Representative, “where he has represented the 90th District since 2006, and also a 2014 candidate for Lt. Governor of South Carolina. Attorney Bakari Sellers has been with the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. in Columbia, SC since 2007.” He stepped down from the House of Representatives in 2014 to run for Lieutenant Governor. He is a member of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Herschel Walker is a former professional football player and Heisman trophy winner.
West’s visit to the Oval Office also sparked controversy. For one, he used the word motherf*cker during comments. At one point, West said, “Trump is on his hero’s journey right now. He might not have thought he’d have a crazy motherf*cker like Kanye running up support.”