Professional wrestler Tyrus didn’t mince words in his recent criticism of President Donald Trump, who he argued could do a much better job when it comes to race relations and uniting the nation.
Tyrus, a regular Fox News contributor, weighed in on Rep. Hakeem Jeffries‘ latest swipe at the president and said the New York congressman went a step too far when he dubbed Trump the “grand wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Tyrus argued that President Donald Trump needs to be called out on his bad behavior. (Fox News / video screenshot)
“I think President Trump needs to be better on racial things, 100 percent,” the pro wrestler said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Outnumbered.” “I would have liked him to come out and say something about [Rep.] Steve King’s racist comments. “It’d be a great thing if he had said something. And it bothers me.”
Tyrus, whose real name is George Murdoch, noted the president’s famous “Make America Great Again” slogan is purely political and unoriginal. President Ronald Reagan has used it before, he said, as a rallying cry to unite the country. The wrestler argued that a small portion of the president’s followers have now twisted its original message.
“Unfortunately, I would say 10 percent of the population that voted for President Trump has a different view,” Tyrus added, saying “They’ve embraced it as ‘Make America White Again.’ So, unfortunately, due to that particular group that takes something that was used about galvanizing America has turned it into something ugly.”
The former WWE wrestler also pointed the finger at mainstream media for sensationalizing the antics of a few bad apples, saying outlets then accelerate things and “make it racist.”
A fellow Fox News pundit chimed in with her dissent, arguing that the recent criticism of Trump was unfair because he just signed off on a criminal justice reform bill that “a lot of African-Americans cared about.” She added that if she were the president, she would be personally offended by people aligning her with the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis.
Tyrus disagreed and argued the president must be called out on his bad behavior.
“The words are strong. I think they were inappropriate,” Tyrus said of Jeffries’ comments. “But you have to call him out on some things. Just keeping it real. Sometimes it’s hard to defend supporting the White House when things happen when he needs to speak and be a leader for everybody. I don’t think he always does that.”
He later noted that calling someone a “grand wizard” isn’t helpful either.
Watch more in the video below.
