A CNN discussion spiraled into a heated exchange after a conservative commentator referenced a 2023 fatal crash frequently invoked in arguments supporting the administration’s hardline immigration agenda.
Former Trump aide Caroline Sunshine sparred with former Clinton aide Keith Boykin during the tense NewsNight segment. Sunshine, 30, pointed to the 2023 school bus crash in Clark County, Ohio, that left 11-year-old Aiden Clark dead.
The driver in the crash, Hermanio Joseph, a 36-year-old Haitian immigrant living legally in the U.S., did not have a valid driver’s license. He was convicted after being charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and felony vehicular homicide, and is serving a prison term of nine to 13 years.
Sunshine raised Clark’s name after progressive political strategist Amanda Litman criticized a Thursday Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for large-scale deportations of people who had been living and working legally in the United States for years.
In her remarks, Litman referenced Springfield, Ohio, the city where the crash occurred. The community is home to an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian residents, including more than 10,000 who arrived within the past five years.
Litman said those residents “make America great.”
“Was the Haitian migrant who killed 11-year-old Aiden Clark making America better with that action?” Sunshine shot back. Her comment immediately triggered overlapping objections and crosstalk from the panel.
Boykin entered the fray moments after immigration attorney Raul Reyes accused Sunshine of “conflating migration with crime.”
Former Donald Trump aide Caroline Sunshine clashed with former Clinton aide Keith Boykin during the Thursday CNN NewsNight segment
Legal Haitian immigrant Hermanio Joseph veered into the wrong lane and killed 11-year-old Ohio resident Aiden Clark after striking the side of the boy’s school bus on August 22, 2023
Sunshine replied that the columnist should ‘say that’ to the victim’s family.
‘You’re going to kick out 350,000 people because of one case? One case. You’re going to kick out 350,000 people because of one stereotype?’ Boykin interjected, sitting up in his seat.
‘What about all the white people who commit crimes in this country?’ he continued. ‘Are you going to kick them out of this country too?’
‘One life matters. One American life matters,’ Sunshine answered, after repeating that Joseph ‘killed a child.’
‘Is that making America better? I don’t think that’s my definition,’ she quipped.
Visibly outraged, Boykin, 60, said Sunshine’s statements were ‘just as racist as’ Trump’s ‘sh*thole countries’ remark about Haiti and other African nations during a 2018 meeting with lawmakers.
‘But you haven’t answered the question. Is killing an 11-year-old American child making America better?’ Sunshine shot back.
‘The idea that you focus on one Haitian person and use that as justification for a racist foreign policy is disgusting. It’s abhorrent,’ Boykin fumed.
Sunshine brought Clark up after progressive political strategist Amanda Litman lamented a Thursday Supreme Court decision
Clark was described as a ‘unique, caring and inquisitive soul’ in an obituary. The boy’s death has become a talking point for conservatives to stress the importance of strict policies against immigration
Sunshine again called attention to the case.
‘It’s disgusting that an 11-year-old was killed by a Haitian migrant who rammed his car into a bus,’ she said. ‘That is disgusting.’
Boykin chided her for supporting a president who ‘smears an entire population.’
‘”A sh*thole country.” A sh*thole?’ he said in disbelief.
Sunshine said Trump was ‘referencing the [Haitian] government, which treats its people poorly.’
‘That shows exactly what MAGA is made of. It’s made of racism,’ concluded Boykin.
The exchange ended there, with host Abby Phillip letting out an uneasy ‘all right.’
‘We got to just leave it there,’ she said, before offering a slight smile and nod to the camera. A commercial followed.
‘That shows exactly what MAGA is made of. It’s made of racism,’ Boykin said at a point. The pair’s back-and-forth was visibly tense
Joseph veered into the wrong lane and killed Clark after striking the side of a Clark County school bus on August 22, 2023.
The child was thrown out the emergency exit as the bus rolled off the road, and crushed as the vehicle went over him.
Another 26 students were injured.
