CNN's Anderson Cooper regrets fat-shaming Trump with ‘obese turtle’ jibe, admits he said a 'cruel thing'
CNN news host Anderson Cooper has now said that he “regrets” dubbing Donald Trump as an “obese turtle on his back” after he took a dig at the Republican for claiming the election was being stolen from him.
As the votes were being counted late last week, Trump alleged that “If you count the legal votes I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” Cooper did not hold back and said, “I don't think we've ever seen anything like this from the president of the United States and I think, as Jake [Tapper] said, it's sad and it is truly pathetic and, of course, it’ll go through the courts, but you'll notice the president did not have any evidence presented at all, nothing, no real actual evidence of any kind of fraud. But he just hasn't accepted it and he wants to take everyone down with him, including this country."
He then added: “That is the president of the United States. That is the most powerful person in the world, and we see him like an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over." His comment became viral soon after a user posted the video on Twitter. A lot of people supported him, but many others slammed him too.
However, on Saturday, November 7, after Joe Biden was declared president-elect, the host addressed his controversial comment while interviewing former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Trump has not yet said anything about the election results and when Cooper asked Yang to comment on his denial, the 45-year-old stated, “I’m happy to say, it seems like Trump is going to be, in your words, an obese turtle on his back, just flailing around, Anderson.” But Cooper immediately said, “By the way, I should say, I regret using those words because that’s not the person I really wanna be. It was in the heat of the moment, and I regret it.”
Adding further, he explained, “The grim era of demonization - I think that’s something all of us should think about. We’ve so gotten used to feeling it’s okay to say things to other people in ways, and I want to take responsibility. A couple days ago I said a cruel thing and used words I shouldn’t have toward the president…. I’ve been spending the last couple of days feeling terrible about it. It’s not who I am and it’s not who I want to be. Other people can be that person on Comedy Central or whatever but that’s not my job and it’s not the citizen I want to be.”
At 11:25 am on November 7 morning, Biden was declared winner by CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, the AP and USA Today after he passed a 30,000 lead in Pennsylvania. Fox News also called the election for the 77-year-old as he received more votes in Philadelphia. In a statement on November 7, Biden said: “I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris. In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America. With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.”