CNN "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo said Tuesday morning that being called "fake news" is comparable to an "ethnic disparagement."
Cuomo made the comment while responding to a tweet from President Donald Trump, who called out the CNN host for not asking Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) about him misrepresenting his military record in an earlier interview. Blumenthal previously lied about serving in Vietnam.
Trump called Cuomo "fake news" in his tweet.
Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
"Let's just please–just show the top of the interview," Cuomo said, responding to the president.
The clip of the Blumenthal interview showed that Cuomo brought up the senator's military record but did not press him on the issue.
"The president of the United States saying you should not be believed because you misrepresented your military record in the past,'" Cuomo said to Blumenthal.
"There's no question that Judge [Neil] Gorsuch said to me that he found these attacks on the judiciary by the president to be disheartening–" Blumenthal responded before the clip was cut off.
"Literally the first point I made in the interview," Cuomo said. "The president, with all due respect, is once again off on the facts. That's not something that any of us have any desire to say on a regular basis, but it keeps being true."
Cuomo then explained why it is insulting to call a journalist "fake news," comparing it to an ethnic slur.
"Fake news is the worst thing that you can call a journalist," he said. "It's like an ethnic disparagement."
"You know, we all have these ugly words for people. That's the one for journalists."