Sparks Fly on CNN as Trump’s ‘Send Them Back’ Remark Fuels Heated Debate
(Screengrab via CNN)
Tensions flared on CNN Monday night as a former Democratic lawmaker and a Republican strategist clashed over a controversial clip of Donald Trump, where he told supporters that Haitian migrants should leave the country, prompting the crowd to chant, “Send them back!” The heated exchange took place on NewsNight with host Abby Phillip, featuring former South Carolina Rep. Bakari Sellers and Erin Perrine, the press communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign.
The confrontation followed a clip of Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, where he addressed the crowd, saying, “Do you think Springfield will ever be the same? I don’t think so. The fact is, I’ll say it now, you have to get them the hell out. You have to get them out. I’m sorry.” The crowd responded with a chorus of “Send them back!” — a refrain that echoes Trump’s past anti-immigration rhetoric.
Trump’s remarks come after he and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, pushed a baseless conspiracy theory claiming that Haitian migrants were abducting and eating pets in the city. The inflammatory nature of the comment stirred reactions from panelists on the show.
Jamele Hill, a contributor to The Atlantic, condemned Trump’s words, accusing him of targeting an innocent community. “That’s embarrassing,” Hill said. “A community that has done nothing but contribute and do all the things that you say you want legal immigrants to do.”
Bakari Sellers, known for his fiery commentary, agreed. He criticized Trump’s inability to make a “nuanced argument” about immigration, stating, “The playbook is back to the normal isms that Donald Trump uses. He uses racism and xenophobia as political currency. It’s us versus them.”
Sellers went further, pointing out the double standard in how immigrants from different racial backgrounds are treated. “Ukrainian and Irish migrants aren’t facing chants of ‘Send them back,’” he noted.
Erin Perrine defended Trump, attempting to draw a parallel between chants at Trump’s rallies and the “Lock him up!” chants heard at Democratic events regarding Trump’s legal troubles. “Incendiary rhetoric is a problem on both sides,” Perrine argued.
But Sellers and Hill immediately dismissed the comparison. “It’s not the same,” Sellers retorted. Hill added, “It’s not even remotely the same.” As the debate intensified, Perrine insisted she wasn’t engaging in “what-about-ism,” but Sellers shot back, “That’s exactly what you did.”
Sellers closed by emphasizing the contribution of Haitian immigrants, who he said are fleeing political corruption and natural disasters to build better lives in the U.S. “The people they pay taxes to say they’re good citizens. And then you bastardize them by saying they eat our dogs and eat our cats.
That is not intellectual equivalence,” he said, denouncing Trump’s racially charged rhetoric. The exchange highlighted the deep divisions over immigration as the 2024 election approaches, with both sides holding firm on their positions.
