In reaction to Bruce Jenner's transition and Mike Huckabee’s controversial comments on transgenderism and gender-neutral bathrooms, a panel of CNN experts ripped the former Arkansas governor for his supposed insensitivity. The June 2 edition of OutFront featured Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon and HLN host Dr. Drew Pinsky, and they both lambasted Huckabee repeatedly by insinuating that he doesn’t view transgender people as human beings.

Pinsky asserted that Huckabee’s comments have now “bled over into misogyny and sexism in the course of his being insensitive on these issues.” He added, “[t]he fact is that there’s a human being here, these are human beings that deserve sensitive care and the best possible care by experts, not attack by their politicians.” Avlon simply reiterated Pinsky’s point and argued that Huckabee was making these comments to get laughs:

I think the problem with this sound bite is that he's clearly using it as a laugh line. And as Dr. Drew said, you are dealing with real human beings here and you don't like to see politicians divide and ridicule for political gain or simply to play to the base. The larger point, of course, is that we’re undergoing a sea change in this country in a gay civil rights moment that a lot – the majority of Americans now support marriage, something that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

After Burnett played a clip in which Huckabee explained the possible dangers of having gender-neutral bathrooms, Pinsky implied that the 2016 presidential candidate doesn’t really understand the issue:

Look, they're confusing gender identity with sexual orientation. He's not helping the process. As we're saying, there's a cultural moment here when these issues are coming to the fore. People want to be sensitive, they want to get their head around – they want to understand this. And this sounds very much like the kind of, sort of, frankly knuckleheaded notions that people had about gays and lesbians not that long ago. And this is the same phenomenon. Should we not allow a gay man into a man's room either, Mr. Huckabee, is that also what you're saying? I mean, for goodness sake.

Burnett – seemingly in wholehearted agreement with the HLN doctor – suggested that Huckabee thinks “ if you're transgender or gay, right, that you're somehow some sort of a predator.” Pinsky agreed and noted that Huckabee’s rhetoric “is being used for political gain, and it’s actually harming people.”

The relevant portion of the transcript is below.