KATE SNOW (HOST): This is a level of discourse that I think a lot of Americans sort of wince when they hear both of you trading the racist term back and forth.

SMILEY: Here again, I disagree respectfully with your characterization of that. Our job is to get at the truth. When you are going after Muslims and you're going after undocumented workers, and we in the media let you get away with that -- our job is to not just cover these stories, Kate, but it's to challenge people and to condemn them when they are doing something that is, in fact, beneath the pale. When Donald Trump does this and rises in the polls and all we cover is the horse race, and we get titillated because we're getting ratings off of covering Donald Trump, but we don't get to the truth of the matter, and the matter is, the truth is, that you're rising in the polls because you're appealing to the dark side, the night side of America. And so he ought to be covered, but he ought to be challenged in the process. I'm not suggesting he doesn't have a right to say what he wants to say. But we're not doing our job when we let him get away with it.

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Previously:

Critics Call On Media To Better Explain The Racism At The Root Of Trump's Campaign Rhetoric

CNN's Van Jones Calls Out Donald Trump For Inspiring Support From White Supremacists

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Highlights White Supremacist Support For Donald Trump