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“That’s a lie! You lie!'

A CNN panel went completely unhinged Monday night when one of the guests angrily rebuked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and accused the congressman of lying on air.

Keith Boykin, a former White House adviser to Bill Clinton, clashed with Donalds News Night with Abby Phillipalleging that Donalds made false claims about rising crime under President Joe Biden. The couple began arguing after watching a clip of Donald Trump calling for “a tough hour” to end crime.

Phillip asked Donalds if Trump is “suggesting that cops can do whatever they want for a day and that will actually solve the problem?”

“No, he’s not,” Donalds replied. “And even the clip you just played was five seconds away from an hour-long speech for Donald Trump. I think people often say, “Well, that's what he said.” For five seconds? Yes, he says things that are not in the script, he goes off the cuff. He's not serious. There is no politics behind it.”

Boykin fought back. “Donald Trump has said inflammatory things in the past,” he said, addressing Donalds. “It’s not just those five seconds of Congressmen, and you know that.”

The two then began arguing over violent rhetoric, with Boykin telling Donalds he wished the congressman would “have the courage to stand up to your dear leader and tell him when he's doing something wrong.” Donalds hit back, by asking if they would talk about “the rhetoric directed at Donald Trump” given the two apparent assassination attempts he survived.

Soon after, they clashed again when Phillip asked Donalds why Trump's call for a “hard hour” wasn't violent rhetoric.

“We have to acknowledge the reality of what's going on in every city in America,” Donalds said, while Boykin chimed in and said he wasn't answering the question. “That answers the question,” Donalds continued, “because the reality in America – wait a minute, Keith – the reality in America is that crime is on the rise.”

At this point, Boykin's patience broke down.

“Crime hasn't gone up massively!” Boykin shouted, banging on the table. “That’s a lie! You're lying, Congressman! You lie!”

As Phillip tried to restore order, Boykin asked her, “Abby, why are you letting this man lie like that on national television?” That's not right. You’re a liar, Congressman!”

“You are now lying to the American people!” Donalds hit back.

After chiming in, Phillip explained that the FBI released data on Monday “showing that crime was down this year through the first six months of the year.” The broadcast also showed a trend line showing a decline in violent crime from its peak in 2022 – but Donalds continued to insist that crime had increased “since the pandemic to this point.”

They discussed how to interpret the data. “I’m not going to sit here and let this man lie on TV all night,” an angry Boykin said at one point in the conversation.

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