House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) scolded Fox News host Brian Kilmeade for blaming "every Black person" for violence seen in the wake of George Floyd's killing by a Minneapolis police officer.
"When it comes to racial justice, there's no one more important than you than anybody else to get it right," Kilmeade told Clyburn during an Monday appearance on "Fox & Friends." "And that's why I've been so personally disappointed to see the violence overwhelm the protests."
"You've heard me speak out against this forever," Clyburn pointed out. "We talked about this. We talked about our experience back in the '60s when we got hijacked. John Lewis never asked anybody to burn anything. We were overtaken by the slogan 'burn, baby burn.' You can't blame John Lewis for that."
"Of course not," Kilmeade interrupted. "Then why are you letting it get hijacked again? Why are you letting your message get hijacked and smothered?"
"You're telling me that I'm letting it get hijacked?" Clyburn asked.
"Yes!" Kilmeade exclaimed.
Clyburn reminded the Fox News host that white supremacists had infiltrated the protests in Minneapolis to instigate violence.
"That's what's happening here," the South Carolina Democrat noted. "You can't blame those people who are protesting."
Kilmeade pressed: "I didn't hear anybody disseminate between Antifa and Black Lives Matter."
"That's not what I advocated," Clyburn insisted. "Look at my 60-year record. I'm not to blame for anybody who wants to misuse any event. That is not what I am. That is not what we are. And I don't want you assigning that to me."
"I don't blame every white person for that guy on your show earlier who's now getting life for terrorizing a whole state, killing people," he continued. "I don't blame every white person for that. So don't blame every Black person for some exception to the rule."
"Good point," Kilmeade agreed.
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