Ex-Trump official apologizes for telling black pundit 'you're out of your cotton-picking mind'

David Bossie.
(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

David Bossie, who once served as President Trump's deputy campaign manager, 
apologized on Sunday after appearing on Fox & Friends and telling his fellow panelist, Joel Payne, he was out of his "cotton-picking mind."

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Bossie and Payne, who served as an aide to former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), were on the show discussing comparisons between concentration camps and detention centers where the children of undocumented immigrants are being held. At one point, Bossie told Payne, "You're out of your cotton-picking mind," to which Payne replied, "Cotton-picking mind? Brother let me tell you something, I've got some relatives who picked cotton and I'm not going to sit here and allow you to attack me like that on TV."

The show's host, Ed Henry, later said Bossie's comments were "obviously offensive," and he wanted to "make clear Fox News and this show, myself, we don't agree with that particular phrase." Bossie tweeted his apology, saying, "During a heated segment on Fox & Friends today, I should have chosen my words more carefully and never used the offensive phrase that I did. I apologize to Joel Payne, Fox News, and its viewers." Payne told MSNBC he has accepted Bossie's apology, but felt "demeaned" and struggled to keep his composure. "Unfortunately, that's par for the course for this president and the people who surround him," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.