Anderson Cooper says he regrets calling Donald Trump an 'obese turtle'

CNN's Anderson Cooper has said that he regrets calling President Trump an "obese turtle" in a now-viral news report amid coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election.

The comment was made after Trump's speech last Thursday (November 5) where he made unfounded claims regarding the existence of voter fraud.

"That is the President of the United States," Cooper said. "That is the most powerful man in the world And we see him like an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over."

Watch Cooper's comments in the video below: 

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Since making those comments, Cooper interviewed former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang to provide his thoughts on Biden being projected as the 46th president of the United States.

Cooper asked Yang how he thinks Biden should handle Trump's refusal to concede, to which Yang replied: "I'm happy to say, it seems like Trump is going to be, in your words, an obese turtle on his back, just flailing around, Anderson."

In response, Cooper addressed his inflammatory remarks, saying:

"By the way I should say, I regret using those words because that's not the person I really wanna be.

"It was in the moment, and I regret it."

The anchor's expression of regret comes after Cooper's angry tirade after Trump's speech offended commentators.

Some were, for example, unhappy that he had chosen inflammatory and "fat-shaming" language to describe the current president.

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For instance, one person wrote: "This may be an unpopular opinion but I’m not crazy about the obese turtle thing or that Oatmeal illustration. A lot of people on the left have engaged in fat-shaming of Trump and I don’t think it’s right, as despicable as he is. This just feels like more, couched as a metaphor. [sic]"

Meanwhile, someone else chimed in: "The Anderson Cooper quote could have been just as effective without the fat-shaming. There are plenty of ways to criticize DT without mentioning his weight and reinforcing stereotypes that harm fat people."

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Another added: "Not all of you laughing at Anderson’s 'Obese Turtle' comment. Fat-shaming isn’t funny no matter who it’s directed at."

However, not everyone was against Cooper's comments and he did receive a lot of support too:

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