What We Learned From Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Talk With Ezra Klein

The assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk has led to extremely tense times in the nation, fueled by the rhetoric of President Donald Trump and other right-wing figures. Political commentator Ezra Klein brought award-winning journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates on his show to discuss the issue, notably days after Coates took Klein’s defense of Kirk’s rhetoric to task.

The conversation about Kirk showed Coates’ highly nuanced and accurate observations of the Turning Point USA founder throughout, as well as his disagreements with Klein’s “uncomfortable” perspective that Kirk’s viewpoints were valuable in political discourse. Coates expressed his view prior to the New York Times-hosted podcast in a Vanity Fair article, which took apart Klein’s take point by point, and touched on that in several moments throughout the podcast. The two are friends, with Coates having appeared on Klein’s podcast numerous times.

Klein got right to asking about the focus of Coates’ disagreement with his take, leading Coates to describe Kirk as a “hatemonger,” stating that he was adept at utilizing hate as a powerful force, and should mainly be viewed in that way.

The Between The World and Me author also illustrated how Black Americans on a whole have been accustomed to fighting for what’s right and losing in the process, without abandoning principles because of those losses, as opposed to those who seek to go away from that fight.

Coates also disagreed with Klein’s introduction of how some are clamoring for a “national divorce” along political lines, suggesting that those making those statements aren’t to be regarded seriously.

Coates took care to state to Klein that his position is vastly different because he grounds his politics in the idea that he sees all humanity as equal, and that his profession reinforces that.

In a more casual moment in the conversation concerning Buddhist meditation practices, Klein actually confesses that the ongoing discussion with Coates and the current political upheaval has him at a loss.

Coates does show a sense of optimism despite the current political chaos, pointing to this current generation of white people as an example.