Fox News Host Apologizes for Contributor’s Racially Insensitive Remark

David Bossie, a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, made a remark while appearing on the Fox & Friends on Sunday that resulted in numerous apologies.

The comment came during a debate between Bossie and Democratic analyst Joel Payne, an African American man, over immigration police.

The two were reacting to a comment made by former CIA director Michael Hayden, who tweeted a photo on Monday of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz with the caption, “Other governments have separated mothers and children.” Bossie took offense to the photo.

“Michael Hayden posted a photo of Auschwitz,” Bossie said.

“Yeah that liberal Michael Hayden, that screaming liberal Michael Hayden,” Payne sarcastically interjected.

“You’re out of your cotton-picking mind,” Bossie responded.

Payne was taken aback by the comment, and retorted, “Cotton-picking mind? Brother, let me tell you something, I got some relatives who picked cotton and I’m not going to sit back and let you attack me on TV like that.”

“This is ridiculous,” Bossie said.

Moderator Ed Henry quickly ended the segment and wished both men a happy Sunday. After commercial break he opened a new segment by apologizing on the behalf of Fox News, saying the network does not agree with Bossie’s choice of words.

“I just want to address what just happened in that debate,” Henry said. “Obviously it got fiery and David Bossie used a phrase that clearly offended Joel Payne and it offended many others.”.

Bossie gave his own apology later that day on Twitter.

“During a heated segment on Fox & Friends today, I should have chosen my words more carefully and never used the offensive phrase that I did,” he tweeted. “I apologize to Joel Payne, Fox News and its viewers.”

Fox News network officials released a statement on the incident to USA Today, writing that the comments were “deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate.”

“His remarks do not reflect the sentiments of Fox News and we do not in any way condone them,” the statement read.

Bossie has been the president and chairman of Citizens United, a conservative political advocacy group, since 2000. He was brought in as the deputy campaign manager for Trump’s 2016 presidential run in September 2016, but was not given a cabinet position when Trump took office in January 2017. He signed a contributor contract with Fox News the following month.