On this week's FOX News Sunday panel, Washington Times opinion writer Charles Hurt made this point about race: "I don't think you could possibly deny that Democrats have used racial politics at least as much as conservatives may have, you know, decades ago. And it is tearing us apart."



He said about President Trump: "When he calls LeBron James dumb or whoever he recalls dumb, he's not drawing any nexus between his race and being dumb, and I think that people that do try to draw some nexus, I think they’re the ones that are dragging race into it."



"Race relations in this country are a whole lot better than I think you would get the impression from reading the media or listening to politicians who were trying to make politics out about all of it. And I think everybody should calm down a little bit and put this into perspective," he said.













CHARLIE HURT, OPINION EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Well, you know, I think it's an incredibly unfair assessment of President Trump. I don’t -- I don't think that he is playing to those things.



And when he calls LeBron James dumb or whoever he recalls dumb, he's not drawing any nexus between his race and being dumb, and I think that people that do try to draw some nexus, I think they’re the ones that are dragging race into it. I think that -- you know, politics in America over the past 20 years in the Democratic Party has been by far the worst of it in the past couple of decades, has used race, religion and gender to divide people, and they make this -- the whole problem so much worse, and I think that -- I don't think you could possibly deny that Democrats have used racial politics at least as much as conservatives may have, you know, decades ago.



But it is -- and it is tearing us apart. A year ago today was a tragic event, one innocent person died, two innocent Virginia state troopers were killed, but let's put it into perspective. When you compare -- and you noted at the top of the show, Martha, that, you know, number of people shot and killed in Chicago, a basic weekend.



But the media focus on this stuff, politicians focus on it because they want to get these divisions in a very damaging way, but I think if we step back and put it into perspective, A, race relations in this country are a whole lot better than I think you would get the impression from reading the media or listening to politicians who were trying to make politics out about all of it. And I think everybody should calm down a little bit and put this into perspective.