CNN panel hits Kanye West with racial insults over Trump - and gets brutal blowback

CNN contributor Tara Setmayer used a racial insult to criticize Kanye West for wearing a Trump campaign hat, but she had to fend off a torrent of blowback from her colleagues and others who thought she crossed a line.

"He's the token negro of the Trump administration?"

Setmayer, who identifies herself politically as a conservative critic of President Donald Trump, appeared on a panel Tuesday discussing the recent actions of West on Saturday Night Live.

"Kanye West is what happens when negroes don't read," said Bakari Sellers. "And we have this now and now Donald Trump is gonna use it and pervert it, and he's gonna have somebody who can stand with him and take pictures."

Don Lemon and Setmayer laughed at Sellers referring to West as a "negro," and Lemon laughed at the obvious discomfort from former Bush aide Scott Jennings, the only white person on the panel.

"Now all of a sudden," Setmayer said, "Kanye because he's put on a MAGA hat, and he's an attention whore like the president, he's all of a sudden now the model spokesperson, he's the token negro of the Trump administration?

"This is ridiculous! And no one should be taken Kanye West seriously!" she concluded.

Here's the video of the CNN panel racially attacking Kanye West:

Trump supporters and others jumped on the comment as hypocritical and racist, given Setmayer's criticism of the president for racially insensitive comments.

"The same people horrified that Pres Trump called LeBron James dumb (which was a serious mistake by the President) feel perfectly free to call Kanye West dumb. Double-standard all the time, or just when you're on TV?" said CNN commentator Steve Cortes.

"This is pretty despicable," said Patrice Lee Onwuka. "Not every black person is an intellectual like [Bakari Sellers, Tara Setmayer, and Don Lemon] but regular folks have some decency and common sense."