Topline
Rick Santorum will no longer appear as a commentator on CNN, the cable network said Saturday, after the former Republican senator and two-time presidential candidate claimed European settlers “birthed a nation from nothing” and shrugged at Native Americans’ presence in North America.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum participates in the Fox Business Network Republican … [+]
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Key Facts
Santorum is “no longer a CNN contributor,” network spokesperson Matt Dornic told Forbes (the Huffington Post first reported Santorum’s departure Saturday).
The conservative commentator — who first joined CNN’s roster in 2017 — drew outrage last month when he told a crowd at a Young America’s Foundation conference that Europeans found a “blank slate” when they arrived in North America, arguing “there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”
Santorum later told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo he “misspoke” in his speech, calling the United States’ displacement and killing of Native Americans “horrific.”
Crucial Quote
“We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here,” Santorum said in his speech. “Yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”
Chief Critic
CNN host Don Lemon wasn’t impressed by Santorum’s attempt to walk back his comments on Cuomo’s show, apologizing to viewers for the remarks. “I cannot believe the first words out of his mouth weren’t ‘I’m sorry, I said something ignorant, I need to learn about the history of this country,’” Lemon said on-air.
Tangent
Santorum landed in hot water decades ago, when he infamously compared homosexuality to bestiality. He walked back the comparison in 2015, calling it “flippant.”
