In a moment I never would have thought I’d see in a thousand years, CNN host Chris Cuomo verbally slapped fellow host Don Lemon as “petty and small” over Lemon’s declaration that if he were in Obama’s place, he would have snubbed any friendliness from Trump during George H.W. Bush’s funeral.

The moment between the two came while they were discussing Bush’s funeral held at the National Cathedral on Wednesday. The discussion went to Trump’s interaction with the former first families when he arrived, and Lemon made it clear that even at that moment he wouldn’t have been a big enough person to put his hatred for Trump aside.

“Nope, couldn’t do it. I’m not that big a person. I would hope that I would be, but I don’t — I can’t fake the funk as they say. I’m not saying the Obamas did that, but there they go, right there,” Lemon told Cuomo as their two shows transitioned from to the other.

“I don’t think it’s about faking the funk. I think it’s about showing respect for something bigger than them,” Cuomo responded.

“Why would they do it when he doesn’t? But I understand what you’re saying,” Lemon said. “What are you talking about, Chris? They showed respect for the office the way they conducted themselves in office. No scandal. There was no trash. There was no affair.”

“They showed the ultimate respect for the office. They do not have to show respect for someone who does not respect them, someone who tweets out pictures of them behind bars. You don’t have to show respect for that kind of person. Let me show you what I would have done,” Lemon continued.

That’s when Cuomo hit Lemon across the face with a few choice words.

“You’re petty and small,” Cuomo told Lemon.

“I’m not petty and small. That’s real, brother. That’s real,” said Lemon defending himself.

“Real petty and small,” responded Cuomo.

https://youtu.be/76Hta4F6gXE?t=116

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but Cuomo is right. In a moment like the one the former presidents and their wives found themselves in, it’s worth remembering that it’s not about you, and it’s about honoring a great man and the family he left behind. Instead, some would rather make it about their feelings.

Lemon is no stranger to being petty and small as Cuomo described, however. Let’s remember that this is the same guy who labeled white Republicans as the primary terror threat in the United States. CNN has yet to take action against Lemon for his racist remarks, and I’m not holding my breath either.

It seems we’ll just have to press forward knowing that Lemon is a child in a man’s body, and not watch his show as a result.