CNN drops Rick Santorum for comments about Native Americans

Network had been under pressure for weeks to cut ties with former GOP presidential candidate

CNN has dropped former Republican Senator Rick Santorum over his comments about Native Americans.

Mr Santorum caused controversy last month when he claimed there was “nothing” in America before white colonists arrived, and that indigenous people had not contributed the country’s culture.

“We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here,” Mr Santorum told students at a Young America’s Foundation event.

“I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”

The news was first reported by Huff-Post. CNN confirmed to The Independent that it has cut ties with the two-time presidential candidate.

“I can confirm that we’ve parted ways,” said a CNN spokesperson.

The political commentator tried to explain his comments on Chris Cuomo’s show and said they had been taken “out of context” and that he “misspoken”, but he did not apologise for them.

“Leadership wasn’t particularly satisfied with that appearance. None of the anchors wanted to book him,” a CNN executive told HuffPost.

“So he was essentially benched anyway. I think after that appearance, it was pretty clear we couldn’t use him again,” added the executive.

The firing came after two weeks of pressure from groups such as the National Congress of American Indians and IllumiNative.

Indigenous-led groups had a “day of action” on Thursday to pressure CNN, and teamed up with celebrities such as Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Helms, Mark Ruffalo, Piper Perabo and Sarah Silverman in an open letter to company executives.

Groups have urged news organizations to “take quick and decisive action to combat racism and white supremacy” and work to diversify their newsrooms.

“CNN must rebuild its trust with the Native community,” the Native American Journalists Association, IllumiNative, and First Peoples Worldwide said in a joint statement.

“We call on CNN to take action to diversify its lineup of contributors and staff to include Native peoples,” the groups said. “The network must establish an Indigenous Affairs Desk, staff must undergo regular comprehensive anti-bias training and the network must adopt clear standards and policies to ensure respect for Native peoples and Indigenous cultures.”