CNN contributor Tara Setmayer shouted down multiple panelists Wednesday night during a heated discussion over comments a Republican congressman made about Haitian migrants.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana made a post on X Wednesday that referenced unconfirmed reports of pets being stolen and eaten by Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, in response to an advocacy group demanding legal action against former President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio before eventually deleting it after being confronted on the House floor, Axios reported.
Setmayer shouted down both pollster Frank Luntz and former RNC spokesperson Madison Gesiotto Gilbert while claiming that Republicans were not “serious people” on immigration because they backed Trump.
“Look, I worked on immigration, for seven years that I worked on Capitol Hill, I actually worked on this issue where there were real serious people trying to fix those problems. I am —” Setmayer said after claiming Haitians didn’t storm the Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, prompting Gesiotto Gilbert to ask, “So you don’t believe there’s a serious Republican in the country?”
Setmayer claimed that Republicans were not being serious on immigration due to nominating Trump for president.
“Not one?” Gesiotto Gilbert asked.
“No, because they’ve nominated Donald Trump as the top of the ticket there, so that‘s not a serious move, if you want to be taken as a serious party,” Setmayer claimed.
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Springfield residents told the Daily Caller News Foundation in September about the city’s struggles to address the influx of approximately 20,000 migrants from Haiti, alleging that traffic accidents and housing prices have increased. Barron Seelig, a pastor and homeless advocate, told the DCNF that the Haitian migrants “invaded” the “sleepy” city and made it hard to locate housing for homeless Springfield residents.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick, gangsters,” Higgins posted on X in the now deleted statement, according to Axios, adding, “All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th.”
Residents of Springfield blamed the city’s struggles on the Biden administration’s border policies. Some crimes, including auto theft and shoplifting, rose in Springfield after the migrants arrived, according to data obtained by the DCNF.
“CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip asked Luntz to address the discussion.
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“This is a problem. I understand that you’re angry. I feel it,” Luntz told Setmayer, who cut him off, saying, “Yes, because people like me are the ones that are being persecuted.”
“This behavior that we’re doing here, this yelling over each other, it’s not what the voters want to see. They’re tired of the yelling on shows. I’m sorry, because I don’t want to get myself kicked off here,” Luntz responded. “They’re tired of the yelling and they want solutions. The number one priority is results, not looking back, looking ahead. And they say the same thing about other conflicts. They don’t want to know who did it. They want to know how you’re going to fix it. Stop trying to blame people and start fixing it, start getting it done now. And that’s not what we’ve been talking about here.”
Setmayer and Phillip then piled on Luntz, with Phillip claiming that Higgins trafficked in “false rumors” surrounding the migrants. Luntz and Setmayer argued after Luntz questioned if Setmayer wanted to “make a statement” or “make a difference.”
“I’m actually doing both. I’m doing both,” Setmayer claimed. “Just because I’m passionate about it, don’t question what people are doing —”
“Actually, I’ve done so many of those focus groups and polling, I want you to be successful. I‘m on your side,” Luntz said, with Setmayer scoffing, “Are you?”
Luntz told Setmayer he was “trying to offer” the CNN commentator a different way to address Trump supporters, but Setmayer cut him off.
“I mean, it’s fine. I don’t appreciate being lectured about life experience when people don’t actually experience it,” Setmayer said.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.