Washington Post's Eugene Robinson: Richard Cohen's Column Was 'A Mistake' (VIDEO)

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said Thursday that his colleague Richard Cohen made "a mistake" with his latest column.

Cohen came under fire on Tuesday when he wrote that "people with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children." He later told The Huffington Post that he could've used a different word besides "conventional," but maintained that he was referring to the views of some people in the Tea Party and not his own. Editorial page editor Fred Hiatt also defended Cohen's column.

Robinson was more critical on Thursday. "Those are not conventional views, first of all... I think it's 87 percent of Americans approve of interracial marriage," he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell."

He continued, "I've known Richard for a long time, and I have to take him at his word that it was inartfully written. I have to take Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor, at his word when he says it was inartfully edited. But clearly that passage, as it appeared in the paper, should not have appeared that way. I think it was a mistake."

Watch Robinson weigh in on the controversy at the 4:50 mark in the video above.