.@donlemon on President Trump: "He is a racist ... but it's more important to be strategic than outraged" https://t.co/YhQrjiIOKr — CNN (@CNN) January 12, 2018

CNN’s Don Lemon called out Donald Trump’s supporters on Thursday for continuing to defend the president despite his “bigoted behavior.”

“How many examples do you need of this?” Lemon asked, hours after the president reportedly used the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and African countries. “But he is a racist.”

The following day, Trump claimed on Twitter that he hadn’t used those specific words, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ― who was in the room at the time ― swiftly contradicted him, saying that the president had in fact “said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.”

Lemon blasted those who’ve attacked the president’s critics for pointing out his racist behavior.

“You know what you can go do?” Lemon asked.

He paused for a moment.

“I can’t say that,” Lemon said. “But you can go read a book, a history book. Because you might learn that some of the people from those shithole countries were slaves who were brought here by force to help build this country, and then start your learning process from there.”

Lemon also called on Trump supporters to do some self-examination.

“What does it say about you that no matter what ― no matter what ― you continue to make excuses for this man, for his vile behavior?” he asked.

See his full commentary in the clip above.

The article has been updated to include that Trump has denied having used that specific language, and Durbin’s assertion that he did.

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