David Bossie has reportedly been suspended from his Fox News contributor role after attacking a fellow panelist with a racist phrase on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” according to the Daily Beast on Monday.
Bossie, a former deputy campaign manager for President Donald Trump, was arguing about liberals’ reactions to the president’s controversial immigration policies when he attacked Democratic strategist Joel Payne.
“You don’t have to be a golden retriever to hear all the dog whistles coming out of the White House these days,” Payne said, accusing Trump of using racist rhetoric to rally his base around immigration.
“You’re out of your cotton-picking mind,” Bossie told Payne.
The phrase “cotton-picking” is used in place of the word “damn,” rooted in the history of using black slaves to pick cotton on Southern plantations. Payne pushed back against Bossie’s offensive remark on air.
“Cotton-picking mind?” Payne said on Sunday. “Brother, let me tell you something: I got some relatives who picked cotton, and I’m not going to sit here and allow you to attack me like that on TV. I’m not out of my cotton-picking mind.”
Hours later, Bossie apologized on Twitter, saying he should have chosen his words “more carefully.”
The Daily Beast reported that Bossie’s suspension for the remark will last two weeks. A representative of Fox News did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.