On CNN's Table for Five, Abby Phillip pressed New York Post correspondent Lydia Moynihan after Moynihan said some cultures are "not compatible" with the United States and should be restricted. Moynihan cited examples — including a contested claim about rape statistics in France and practices such as female genital mutilation — while Phillip warned that such broad labels risk excluding people fleeing harm. Rep. Jared Moskowitz invoked the USS St. Louis to caution against denying refuge to persecuted groups. The exchange highlighted tensions between public-safety concerns and the risk of sweeping cultural generalizations.
CNN Anchor Challenges Panelist After Claim That Some 'Cultures' Are 'Not Compatible' With U.S.
On CNN's Table for Five, anchor Abby Phillip pressed New York Post correspondent Lydia Moynihan after Moynihan said some cultures are "not compatible" with the United States and suggested those cultures should not be allowed entry.
The exchange arose as the panel debated President Donald Trump's tougher immigration rhetoric, including his remarks describing immigrants from certain countries as "filthy, dirty, disgusting," specifically naming Somalia. Moynihan argued that some cultural practices clash with American norms and cited examples she said illustrated the concern.
Moynihan's Examples: Moynihan pointed to a recent European legal argument she described — involving an Afghan immigrant and an assault case — and said it reflected a broader problem of cultural defenses for criminal behavior. She also asserted that "77% of rapes in France are from migrants," and named practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) as examples of cultural norms she said worry critics of open immigration policies.
Phillip's Pushback: Phillip repeatedly asked Moynihan to specify which "cultures" she meant and warned that labeling entire peoples or nations as culturally "incompatible" risks broad, dehumanizing generalizations. Phillip challenged the practical and moral implications: would people fleeing FGM or persecution be denied asylum simply because their country of origin was deemed culturally incompatible?
When Phillip raised the hypothetical of a Somali woman or an Afghan student seeking safety or education, Moynihan replied that "they're bringing it with them," and reiterated that "vetting matters." Phillip countered that declaring whole cultures incompatible could exclude people who are themselves victims or refugees.
Historical Context And Response: Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), also on the panel, invoked the 1939 voyage of the USS St. Louis — when Jewish refugees were turned away — to warn against classifying groups as "not compatible." "That was not okay then and it's not okay now," he said. Moynihan responded that vetting procedures are necessary to protect public safety.
On The Contested Statistic: The claim that "77% of rapes in France are from migrants" was presented by Moynihan as a supporting statistic; media and fact-checking organizations have previously identified such figures as misleading or lacking proper context. The program did not provide independent verification of that number during the exchange.
The tense back-and-forth highlighted the challenges of discussing "culture" in immigration debates: balancing legitimate public-safety concerns and the need for effective vetting, while avoiding broad, stigmatizing labels that can exclude vulnerable people fleeing violence or persecution.
