In an on-air debate over the goodness of Antifa, CNN host Chris Cuomo claimed the anarchist group represented “a good cause.”
Host Cuomo was locked in disagreement with CNN political analyst Steve Cortes over President Trump’s remarks on the 2017 Charlottesville riots when he stated that there were “very fine people, on both sides” in reference to those who were apparently in attendance to protest the demolition of a statue of Civil War General Robert E. Lee.
President Trump has clarified his comments a day after receiving backlash and emphasized that he “condemns all types of racism and acts of violence,” saying, “If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. And I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general. Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals.”
Apparently, host Cuomo doesn’t blame Antifa for the violence as he said, “There are certain aspects of [Antifa] that are true to a cause. That is a good cause. They want social justice,”
His remarks brought this response from Cortes: “Antifa is not a good cause. Antifa does not have good aims. Antifa wants power, wants political power, taken through force. That’s what Antifa is all about.”
CNN’s Cuomo insisted that he was “not here to espouse Antifa,” which Cortez responded with, “Sure sounds like it.”
For the CNN host, the debate was all about Antifa having some values that are intrinsically American and therefore “you don’t draw a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and the people that are there to fight against them.”
He also suggested that radical Islam is “nowhere near responsible for what we’re dealing with here in terms of death and attacks as the right-wing extremists.”
Host Cuomo repeatedly defended Antifa since the Charlottesville riot, even after the group plainly admitted that it utilizes violence to push its political program.
