Soledad O’Brien has been known to be very candid about systemic oppression and racism in the United States. She did just that on Sunday when talking to CNN commentators about Donald Trump and the ways that mainstream media outlets cover his campaign surrogates.

O’Brien explained to CNN host Brian Stelter, “If you look at Hillary Clinton’s speech where she basically pointed out that what Donald Trump has done — actually quite well — has normalized white supremacy. I think she made a very good argument, almost like a lawyer. Here is ways in which he has actually worked to normalize conversations that many people find hateful.”

Further, O’Brien explains the ways that the mainstream media’s efforts to appear fair and balanced have made the bigotry and racism of the Trump campaign seem acceptable or at least comparable to the complaints of bias against Hillary Clinton.

Later in the interview, O’Brien succinctly describes why the media’s “neutral” approach is actually normalizing white supremacist ideologies.

“The gentleman I am referring to, refers to himself as a white supremacist…The thing we are talking about is: are you softening the ground for people who are white supremacists, who are white nationalists, who would self-identify that way to feel comfortable with their views being brought into national discourse to the point where they can do a five-minute interview happily.on national television? And, the answer is yes, clearly. And there is lots of evidence of that.”

Watch the full video below:

Photo: YouTube

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  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.