Pro-Trump CNN political commentator Rick Santorum attempted to explain away President Donald Trump’s outright refusal to condemn white supremacists and far-right extremism during Tuesday night’s chaotic debate by framing it as Trump’s unwillingness to “say something bad” about his supporters.

After the CNN political reporter Gloria Borger called it a “low moment in presidential history,” Santorum said that “Democrats owe a lot” to moderator Chris Wallace for pressing Trump on the issue, adding that “he was asking the president to do something that he knows the president doesn’t like to do.”

“Which is?” Borger asked, prompting Santorum to reply: “Which is, say something bad about people who support him.” Borger and CNN political analyst David Axelrod, meanwhile, wondered if Santorum meant “white supremacists,” causing the former Pennsylvania senator to agree. “Well, yeah, the white supremacists,” he sighed.