“Senator, you have faced a fair amount of criticism,” Melvin said, “especially over the past few days, because you are the only black Republican senator.“
The NBC anchor, who is black, added, “Some have said that your party is using you, they’ve even thrown around the word ‘token,’ as well. Your response to that criticism?”
Before we go any further, let us appreciate just how sleazy that question is. For starters, Melvin provides no citation for the “token” allegation. The anchor actually asked a United States senator to respond to anonymous trolls. What an excellent use of everyone’s time.
Further, there is a dirty industry secret at play here: Reporters often use the “some people say” formulation to level criticisms they generally agree with but do not want to state outright for fear of appearing biased.
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