Former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley on Sunday chided ex-Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski over the GOP nominee’s immigration policies, saying the US isn’t an “only-for-white Americans sort of country.”
O’Malley, a former Maryland governor, appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday with Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager until he was fired in June.
Lewandowski, a CNN contributor, called his former boss “a raw talent.”
That prompted O’Malley to criticize Trump over his proposal to block Syrian refugees from entering the US, retorting “he’s raw, but it’s not talent.” O’Malley added, “It’s the rawness of scapegoating others. The man finally comes out with his first political campaign of the season, and it’s attacking Syrian refugees.”
O’Malley then made his point on a more personal basis, citing a now-viral photo of five-year-old Syrian Omran Daqneesh.
“People come to our country, Corey, with last names like Lewandowski and O’Malley, not because we’re a nativist white America only-for-white Americans sort of country” he said.
“We’re a place that’s a beacon of hope for people, like that five-year-old little Syrian boy. And what does Donald Trump do? He runs an ad saying that we’re being overrun with immigrants from Syria. Give me a break.”
“When they start killing Americans that will be a problem” replied Lewandowski.
“It’s raw hate. that’s what it is,” said O’Malley, who dropped his Democratic primary bid after receiving less than 1% support in the Iowa Caucuses.
