Stunned Jake Tapper TORCHES Dilbert For ‘Clearly Preaching White Supremacy’ — And Musk For Taking His Side
CNN anchor Jake Tapper torched Dilbert creator Scott Adams over a racist rant Tapper said was “clearly preaching white supremacy” and slammed Elon Musk for weighing in on Adams’ side.
Adams has been ostentatiously blowing himself up since last Wednesday, when a racist rant — in which he told viewers of his YouTube show “Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people” — went viral, and which he continued to expound upon even as newspapers dropped his comic strip along with blistering condemnations.
On Monday afternoon’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper and CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy torched Adams, and expressed bemusement that Musk swooped in to defend the Dilbert creator:
JAKE TAPPER: Adams on his YouTube show, referenced a poll by Rasmussen that’s a pro-Trump media company whose polls do not meet CNN’s standards. The poll suggested that 53% of Black Americans indicated they agree with the statement it’s okay to be white, leaving the other 47% to say they disagree or they aren’t sure. We should note here the significance of that statement. It’s okay to be white. The Anti-Defamation League says that phrase has a long history in the white supremacist movement. So why Rasmussen was polling on it is anyone’s guess. But here is what some of what Adams said.
SCOTT ADAMS (VIDEOCLIP): So if, you know, nearly half of all Blacks are not okay with white people, according to this poll. Not according to me, according to this poll. That’s a hate group. The best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people.
JAKE TAPPER: A fairly racist statement, as blatant as it gets. CNN’s Oliver Darcy watching all of this. You know, Oliver, Adams, who we should note, came on The Lead in the early Trump era a few times. He’s been trending more and more hard right, for years now into some really bigoted terrain. But I guess this apparently crossed the line into self-immolation.
OLIVER DARCY: That’s certainly correct, Jake. I mean, if you watch this live stream, I mean, you just played some of the comments. There are, frankly, very shocking comments. It seems to be that he is promoting effectively promoting segregation, saying that white people should not be helping Black people. They should be staying away from them and really, really defending these comments and later broadcasts that I’ve watched. Now he’s saying he was being hyperbolic and wanting to start a conversation about race, but obviously making comments like that’s no way to start this conversation. He’s also, Jake, positioning himself as really a free speech martyr here. But, you know, consequences do follow free speech. He has the right, of course, to say whatever he wants. These newspapers and other businesses have a have a right to sever ties with them.
JAKE TAPPER: Yeah, he wants to make this cancel culture, but this is, this is consequence culture, really. Now, newspapers across the country were pulling Dilbert even before the syndicate. The distribution company cut ties with Adams today. This is going to be potentially a huge financial blow.
OLIVER DARCY: I can imagine that his finances aren’t going to look so great after this, at least his income stream, because, like you said, all the newspapers have really effectively canceled the Dilbert comic strip and it’s extended beyond that at this point. His publisher, the publisher of a forthcoming book that he was set to release in September, they’ve now said they’re no longer going to publish that book. He had tweeted earlier today that his book agent had canceled on him. So he’s going to have some professional repercussions for sure as a result of these shocking and racist comments. Now, whether he’s able to leverage the attention he’s receiving to start something separate, you know, that remains to be seen. But in terms of his previous business model, that’s all but been obliterated Jake.
JAKE TAPPER: Yeah, I mean, he’s also in addition to White su– segregation, he’s also clearly preaching white supremacy. But now Elon Musk is weighing in on Scott Adams’ side of this?
OLIVER DARCY: That’s, you know, if the story couldn’t get any crazier, it just did. I guess it’s not too crazy that Elon Musk would say something, you know, that would draw controversy. But he was effectively defending or rushing to Scott’s defense after these shocking comments. He said that the media is racist in one tweet. And then he went on to elaborate on that tweet, not not really doing himself any favors. Now he’s saying that he doesn’t always agree with what Adams does, but that he finds the Dilbert cartoon funny. Jake.
JAKE TAPPER: Yeah, nobody’s talking about the Dilbert cartoon. We’re talking about what Scott said on the YouTube. Oliver Darcy, thanks so much. And our world.
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