Left-wing writer Charles Kaiser used the N-word live Tuesday on CNN, mistakenly attributing the slur to President-elect Donald Trump’s adviser Stephen K. Bannon.
Mr. Kaiser, a former New York Times reporter and the author of several books, advised the president-elect not to “choose as a White House counselor a man who uses the word [expletive],’ whose wife says he did not want his daughters to go to school with too many Jews.”
The slur drew an immediate reaction from CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin.
“Charles, just hang on a second,” Ms. Baldwin interrupted. “I appreciate you going through all of this, but please don’t use the N-word on my show.”
Mr. Kaiser, who is white, continued.
“I’m sorry, well, I never use the N-word, except when I’m quoting someone who’s been appointed by the president to serve in the Oval Office, since this is such a disgusting moment in our history,” he said.
There is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Bannon has ever used the N-word.
Mr. Kaiser later told the Erik Wemple Blog that he meant to attribute the slur to Mr. Trump’s attorney general nominee, Jeff Sessions.
Mr. Sessions, now an Alabama senator, was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 amid allegations that he had used racist epithets. He denied the accusations at the time.
The CNN segment also featured GOP political commentator Paris Dennard, who said Mr. Sessions should be confirmed as attorney general.
“We can go back and look at everyone’s history,” Mr. Dennard said. “I’m sure that the person sitting next to me on this program has said some things that he would regret.”
Mr. Kaiser went on to lecture Mr. Dennard, who is black, about supporting Mr. Trump’s administrative appointments.
“I think it’s shameful that any African-American would support this man to be attorney general,” Mr. Kaiser said. “It’s shameful.”
“Sir, you don’t know why — you know what? I don’t question your allegiance to the people that you support,” Mr. Dennard responded. “I will tell you why I support Mr. Trump, who’s the president-elect, because I think he’s going to do good things for this country, and particularly good things for my community.”
By the end of the segment, Ms. Baldwin appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“I am still — the more I sat here and listened to the fact that somebody used the N-word on this show,” she said. “It is not OK. It is not OK. Charles Kaiser, I respect you, I enjoy having you on as a guest, but not OK. By the way, the claim that Mr. Bannon used the N-word, I’ve never heard of this, so there’s that.”
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