CNN Guest Declares America ‘Racist, Sexist, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Antisemitic’ Country After Club Q Shooting

The United States is a “racist” and “sexist” country, according to a CNN guest who accused the nation of homophobia, Islamophobia, and antisemitism, while criticizing the country’s “free flowing of guns.”

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN Tonight,” Tom Verni, a former NYPD detective and police academy instructor, participated in a discussion surrounding the recent shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 25 injured.

The attack took place on Saturday night at a gay nightclub by a perpetrator described as “nonbinary,” according to the suspect’s defense team.

In new court filing, public defenders for the suspect in the mass shooting at a Colorado gay club that left 5 people dead say that their client is non-binary and that "they use they/them pronouns." The lawyers refer to their client as Mx. Anderson Aldrich. pic.twitter.com/dPaUpiFXKN

— Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs (@NickAtNews) November 23, 2022

While discussing the “sudden” rise of “anti-LGBTQ bills” in state Houses countrywide, host Alisyn Camerota asked Verni to explain the motive and thought process of the shooter.

“Here’s breaking news,” he said, pointing to his ear to signal an imaginary news update. 

“We live in a racist, sexist, homphobic, Islamophobic, antisemitic country,” he continued.

Tom Verni, former NYPD detective, tells CNN, "We live in a racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, country." It must be miserable to go through life and just assume the worst in everyone pic.twitter.com/SBkisIXQvH

— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 22, 2022

The former detective then described the widespread prejudice as “learned behavior passed down through generations.” 

“Everything stems from that,” he added.

Verni then attempted to tie the attack to firearms access.

“And then when you add into the mix the free flowing of guns in our country — which are awash in every neighborhood of every state — now you have people who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic, like this guy, who get their hands on a weapon and then go out and then massacre people just trying to enjoy themselves.”

Though he admitted he was unable to explain the background of the “methodology of a psychopath,” he pointed to what he described as a “re-ocurring theme of people who are extremely angry and have all kinds of vitriol that they need to just let out.”

Calling what is currently happening in the country “sickening,” Verni accused many in the government of “fueling this fire of people.” 

“And if they’re on the edge to go out and snap and do something — maybe that’s all it takes is someone of authority to give them that green light to do it,” he said.

After backlash online, Verni noted in a tweet that his CNN appearance “bothered a few who don’t seem to think we have major problems in our country like #racism, #homophobia etc.” 

“The sooner they see it’s real the sooner we can work on it. United,” he added. “I’d like our ‘leaders’ to take the ‘lead.’”

The remarks come as many on the left continue to depict the U.S. as a systemically racist country.

Last month, a Washington Post essay argued that America has a “white voter problem,” and is “in trouble” because white people “are likely to be the majority of voters for at least two more decades.”

In September, a Post piece claimed terms such as “woke” and “CRT” are mere euphemisms used by conservatives to express their “racism” in a socially acceptable manner.

In June, another Post article suggested black Americans may need to “flee” the country in the face of an apparently growing population of “crazy White people” who are “not to be trifled with.”