Angela Rye — the political commentator who famously rolled her eyes into the back of her head during an on-air discussion of Donald Trump’s accomplishments — went well beyond facial expressions to criticize conservative radio host Joe Walsh last night. During a debate on CNN, Rye repeatedly called Walsh a “bigot” for saying the bar had been “lowered” for President Obama because he’s black.
“Did you or did you not say that the standard was lower because he was black?” Rye asked. When Walsh replied that he “absolutely” had, Rye said, “That’s what makes you a bigot, Joe.”
Then host Brooke Baldwin asked Walsh to explain himself, and Rye’s reactions got even more pointed. “Are you going to say something while your mouth is moving?” she asked him. Then, when Walsh said Obama hadn’t been vetted or criticized “like all of our other presidents,” Rye let out an “oh my god, are you kidding me?”
“I am tired of people telling me that black people are beneath a standard when we have to be twice as good all the time,” she added. “I’m not interested in having a dialogue with someone like Joe, who has demonstrated a propensity towards bigotry, and he did that on Twitter yesterday, in 140 characters or less.”
It’s worth watching the whole exchange, which ends with Baldwin saying she had “no idea it would go this way.”
