Charles Blow Blasts Black Trump Surrogate: "You Are Part of the Bigotry"

Donald Trump supporters still trying to deny the ever-growing bigotry of the Republican presidential candidate's rhetoric and campaign are having a rough week in broadcast media.

Over the weekend, Joy Reid swiftly shut down Trump supporter and CNBC contributor Steve Cortes when he tried to deny that recently added campaign leadership has long-standing ties with the far right. Reid reminded her guest that even someone who is "incredibly gay" can still be a racist white nationalist.

Then today, New York Times columnist and CNN politicial commentator Charles Blow appeared on gay anchor Don Lemon's show with a fierce clapback to Bruce LeVell, executive director of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump.

"Listen, here's the deal, right," the bisexual writer begins. "So Donald Trump is a bigot. There's no other way to get around it."

LeVell breaks in, saying "wow" incredulously.

"You have to decide whether or not you want to be part of the bigotry that is Donald Trump," Blow tells LeVell, who has been campaigning to bring minority votes to Trump's presidential bid since 2015.

It's impossible to stay neutral in these kinds of situations, Blow explains. Trump's bigotry is so unabashed that one cannot simply brush it aside and say they are supporting the candidate for his business acumen or because they don't like Hillary Clinton, he argues.

"You have to decide if you want to be a part of the sexism and misogyny that is Donald Trump. You have to decide if you want to be part of the bullying that would allow him to make fun of one of my disabled colleagues at the New York Times," Blow continues. "You have to decide that."

Attempting to moderate the increasingly tense conversation, Lemon offers to give LeVell the last word on Monday's episode, but LeVell throws it back to Blow, repeating an earlier question he had posed, asking Blow to "name one time" that Trump has spoken about African-Americans.

That's when Blow channels Mariah Carey, asking why LeVell is even on television. "I don't know you," Blow fires back. "I don't want to talk to you ... and I don't want to answer your questions."

LeVell tries to pick his face up and respond, alleging that Blow is a part of Clinton's campaign.

"I am a black man in America, and I know a bigot when I see a bigot," Blow responds. "And you are supporting a bigot which makes you a part of the bigotry that is Donald Trump. ... You are a part of the problem that black America faces."

Trump supporters -- including LeVell on CNN Tonight -- have been quick to disavow any racist underpinnings in their preferred candidate or his campaign, but mounting evidence suggests that Trump's consistent bullying has emboldened his supporters to wear their own prejudices proudly. Whether it's a Trump supporter unfurling a Confederate flag at a Florida rally last month just a few miles away from the Pulse shooting site, ongoing video evidence of his supporters using racial slurs, or the candidate's own continuous Islamophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric, it's getting harder and harder to believe Trump's pandering attempts to appeal to minorities come from any sincere desire to better life for people of color in America.