

"I don’t. The president is a equal opportunity abuser," Caputo maintained. "When it comes to the media, I don’t believe the president is anti-black anymore than I believe that [CNN chief White House correspondent] Jim Acosta is anti-woman because he was mean to [press secretary Sarah Huckabee] Sanders or treated a White House intern with disrespect during the press conference."

"The president treats all media the same way. Especially those who attack him," Caputo said. "The president was, grew up and came of age in the New York City media market. That’s a brutal place. He’s always been punching back at reporters for decades. And I think this is, the idea it’s white supremacy or he’s a racist, it’s just another trope."

Former Trump campaign aide @MichaelRCaputo says President Trump is not targeting African-American journalists, but that he is an an “equal opportunity abuser when it comes to the media.” https://t.co/BDScJ3uYJK pic.twitter.com/3zKB0s39WT — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 9, 2018

Phillip took to Twitter on Friday to thank her colleague, CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin, who made a similar argument as Powers that Trump's criticism of certain media members was race- and gender-motivated.

Cooper brought in Republican strategist and Trump supporter Michael Caputo and asked if he agreed with Powers.