A conservative panelist was so out of control during a CNN discussion that all his fellow panelists could do is laugh at him for refusing to allow the only woman on the panel an opportunity to speak.
CNN host Abby Phillip welcomed her panelists for “Table of Five” to discuss their favorite things about America. Everything from the best cities to the best food and music. The discussion should have been easy with the biggest clashes coming from strident beliefs about barbecue styles and skylines.
Sports reporter/host and frequent CNN commentator Cari Champion talked about how bittersweet it is for her as a Black woman in America, because the country has come so far. Her top point of gratitude came from America’s freedom of speech.
“Free speech is something that has never really been free technically, but we still have the right,” she explained. “We still can say how we feel. We still can. It may cost us something, not necessarily in that moment, perhaps eventually. But the beauty of what I do as a journalist is that I speak from my heart, and I don’t ever have fear that what I’m saying will land me in jail, or perhaps be the end of my life. I do feel very sure that free speech is still, no matter how hard we have to fight for it here in America. And it’s something that’s —”
Conservative lawyer Arthur Aidala, who was once a Fox News analyst, cut in, trying to talk over her.
“No!” Champion said. “No, no no! Right there. Right there. No, you may not! It’s called free speech. It’s my turn. You get a turn too. We’re going around the table. He went. I went. Now it’s your turn. You get a turn. That’s free speech. So, he wouldn’t even let me finish.”
Aidala spoke about his family and the ability to rebuild itself in the U.S. after one generation. He opposed her comments about the freedom of speech, saying that cancel culture has killed free speech by censoring people from the New York Times and forcing them to use hundreds of other options to voice their opinions.
When it was Champion’s turn to speak again, she took off of Harry Enten’s comments, saying what is emblematic is that “men are always interrupting women.” The men at the table cracked up laughing as Aidala clapped his hands. “This is a patriarchy. And this is a perfect example of America.”
Champion was joking, but her remarks were a little on the nose. She returned to her free speech comments, saying that there’s a huge divide between a social attack on comments and the government arresting someone for what they say.
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