Ruhle Terrified of GOP Donors Backing Trump, Want ‘Ultimate Power!’

Stephanie Ruhle, host of The 11th Hour, joined an MSNBC panel on Thursday night to gloat and bloviate about former President Donald Trump’s 34 felony convictions. During the discussion, she contributed a novel theory, declaring with certainty that Trump’s continued supporters signaled a scary reality: “ultimate power” in the hands of the GOP. Ruhle described her experience of various conversations with GOP donors, immediately following the verdict, “who in the last month have sort of coalesced around Donald Trump and said, you know, like, ‘I may have been with Nikki Haley, I may have liked Ron DeSantis, but no, Trump’s my guy.’”  She recounted how “not one single person that I called seemed to be fazed,” and for some reason seemed bewildered that “no one I spoke to said he was innocent” but instead “went after Alvin Bragg.”     Ruhle then posited that such support substantiated a growing hunger for power, fueled by a complete disregard for the threat to democracy that a second Trump presidency would allegedly entail.  Furthermore, she falsely reasoned that these donors were solely interested in an opportunity to indebt a prospective president, currently “weak and humiliated”: So these smart successful business people don’t see…this group doesn't seem to care because they know now more than ever, Trump is especially weak and humiliated. So if they side with him now and stand with him publicly now, he is going to owe them. And what’s really scary when we’re talking about ultimate power, now there’s a whole universe of people who are saying ‘I’m gonna stand with this guy because he’s weak and when and if he wins, he will owe me a favor.’ This is a group of people who want to have ultimate power and this is a man who wants to be president again so we don't have a normal judicial system, who wants ultimate power. Perhaps Ruhle feared that GOP donors would exercise this vast influence by expecting Trump to enact Republican legislation dismantling the Biden Administration’s policies. She closed with an urgent message to “think about where we are,” evidently gripped by the terror of a menacing second Trump presidency. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC The 11th Hour 5/31/2024 11:11:16 PM ET STEPHANIE RUHLE: To me, today was all about power. As soon as we got the verdict, I was on the phone with all sorts of GOP donors, especially those who in the last month have sort of coalesced around Donald Trump and said, you know, like, “I may have been with Nikki Haley, I may have liked Ron DeSantis, but no, Trump’s my guy.” And down the line, not one single person that I called seemed to be fazed.  But what was so interesting, no one I spoke to said he was innocent. They went after Alvin Bragg, they went after… And what's scary about that is why would all of these people, right?  One of the ways you become a big GOP donor is because you have a lot of money, you’re successful at something. So these smart successful business people don’t see…this group doesn't seem to care because they know now more than ever, Trump is especially weak and humiliated. So, if they side with him now and stand with him publicly now, he’s going to owe them.  And what’s really scary when we’re talking about ultimate power, now there’s a whole universe of people who are saying, “I’m gonna stand with this guy because he’s weak and when and if he wins, he will owe me a favor.” This is a group of people who want to have ultimate power and this is a man who wants to be president again so we don't have a normal judicial system, who wants ultimate power.  And you have to think about this moment we’re in. 12 Americans, 12 jurors sat there for five weeks, hours and hours and hours, and made a decision. The justice system worked. And the fact there still are people out there, significant people saying “I'm okay with it,” that’s really a moment to think about where we are. (...)

Cry More: MSNBC Lights Itself on Fire over Alito Flags, Recusal Refusal

It didn’t take long for Justice Samuel Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from January 6th-related cases to incur the wrath of MSNBC’s Joy Reid. On Wednesday night’s episode of The ReidOut, she and legal analyst Melissa Murray vented their indignation over Alito’s alleged mockery of the American public through his decision. Reid began by citing sections from Alito’s letters before inviting Murray, who immediately bellyached about them as egregious signs of disrespect to Americans he robbed of the “Constitutional” right to end the lives of unborn children:  It is a giant double-fingered F-you to the American public. This man is not simply saying he is not fond of flying flags but his wife is, he's basically trolling Americans who know that he is the author of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the decision that withdrew the Constitutional right to an abortion that Roe v. Wade established. He wrote that decision. And he says not once, not twice, but three times, here first to his wife as a private citizen is in possession of rights: rights that allow her to quote, unquote ‘Make decisions that he has always honored and respects her choices to do so.’ Again, this is the same man who withdrew from millions of American women the right to make decisions about their own body. This is a trolling, trolling letter. A giant F-you to the American public.      Later in the segment, Reid referred to the Washington Post’s decision to not report on the flag incident which occurred in 2021, labeling it a “mini-scandal.” In fact, the Post simply had the discernment to deem the story not newsworthy, understanding that it stemmed from a squabble with liberal neighbors, looking to uncover dirt on a conservative justice. The two continued to caricature Alito and “these conservative justices” as completely unable to “control their own wives.” Reid and Murray reasoned that justices like Alito and Clarence Thomas compensated for lack of authority in their marriages by enacting policies that control all other women. As Reid so eloquently summarized it, “It is remarkable that what they're saying is, they want every woman to be under 19th century-style control of the state but in their house, those women are in charge.” Murray riffed on Reid’s outrageous statement with her own, asserting that “These women are in charge, and they're proto feminists. I mean, like he respects his wife's right,” referring to Martha-Ann Alito.  Reid snidely bounced back with “What if she got pregnant? I mean she’s 70…” To her hilarity, Murray added “He's pro-choice, but for flags, not other choices.” Sufficiently amused by their not-so clever gibes, Murray concluded, “I mean, it truly does boggle the mind that we are at the point now where we can genuinely say that Clarence Thomas walked, so Sam Alito could run,” with Reid’s chuckling affirmation, “Indeed.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s The ReidOut 5/29/2024 07:46:06 JOY REID: And today, in two new letters to members of Congress, he rejected calls to recuse himself on both January 6th cases, while blaming mean old Martha-Ann. In typically defiant and indignant tones, he writes, "My wife is a private citizen, and she possesses the same First Amendment rights as every other American. She makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so. I am confident that a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to affect the outcome of Supreme Court cases would conclude that the facts recounted above do not meet the applicable standard for recusal."  As for the Appeal to Heaven flag outside their New Jersey home that flag, repurposed as a symbol of support for Donald Trump, was flown during the January 6th insurrection. That flag? Alito shoves Martha-Ann under the bus again saying that the vacation house is in her name and adding, "My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not."  Joining me now with thoughts is Melissa Murray, NYU law professor and MSNBC legal analyst. Thoughts, my friend? MELISSA MURRAY: Okay, there's a lot here. Let me go through it. First of all, this letter is nominally addressed to Congress. It is a giant double-fingered F-you to the American public. This man is not simply saying he is not fond of flying flags but his wife is, he's basically trolling Americans who know that he is the author of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the decision that withdrew the Constitutional right to an abortion that Roe v. Wade established. He wrote that decision. And he says not once, not twice, but three times, here first to his wife as a private citizen is in possession of rights: rights that allow her to quote, unquote “Make decisions that he has always honored and respects her choices to do so.” Again, this is the same man who withdrew from millions of American women the right to make decisions about their own body. This is a trolling, trolling letter. A giant F-you to the American public.  He does not dispute the fact that the flags flew upside down at their home in Fairfax County, nor does he dispute that the flag, the Appeal to Heaven flag, was flying at their vacation home in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Instead, he just says, “she did it! REID: It’s her problem. MURRAY: And I can't control her.” That's the best part of this.  What is going on among these conservative justices where they cannot seem to control their own wives. Clarence can't stop Ginni Thomas from texting Mark Meadows in the middle of an insurrection. Justice Alito can't seem to stop Martha-Ann from flying the American flag upside down at their home. But nonetheless, they have decided that they are going to write opinions that seek to control every other American woman. Like, what is going on here? REID: And they're going to now essentially say they get to decide whether you can have mifepristone. They get to decide that.  MURRAY: Yup. REID: And I would not put it past him to write that decision. It is remarkable that what they're saying is, they want every woman to be under 19th century-style control of the state– MURRAY: Except these ladies. REID: But in their house, those women are in charge. MURRAY: These women are in charge, and they're proto-feminists.  REID: Yeah. MURRAY: I mean, like he respects his wife's right. The funny– REID: What if she got pregnant? MURRAY: He respects her choice– REID: I mean she’s 70. MURRAY: He's pro-choice, but for flags, not other choices.  REID: (Laughs) MURRAY: I mean, it truly does boggle the mind that we are at the point now where we can genuinely say that Clarence Thomas walked, so Sam Alito could run. REID: (Laughs). Indeed. (...)

NBC Claims Increased Spending Shows ‘Confidence,’ Omits Inflation

Wednesday morning’s airing of NBC’s Today included a segment exploring the purported rise of consumer confidence in May. The show’s hosts were joined by senior business correspondent Christine Romans, who broke down the contributing factors and came to the conclusion that people were acting confidently through their spending, while simultaneously not taking into account that goods and services cost more due to inflation. Romans began by firmly stating that “a very strong job market is really supporting people's finances here.” She cited examples of people’s intentions to make larger purchases, like cars and appliances, adding that “Those are things that suggest you have confidence in your paycheck.” According to her analysis, the labor market was most significantly affecting the increase in consumer confidence. Following a short discussion of the housing market and interest rates as related to the confidence number, things started to unravel when Romans then considered the problem of affordability and complaints regarding excessive costs for basic necessities.     As if completely forgetting basic human necessities that require spending, Romans inaccurately presented the inconsistency of people who, while hesitant about the economy, would not stop spending, which she interpreted as a pretense of confidence: And they just feel like they're being nickeled and dimed. So, affordability is still a problem here. I've been going to swing states talking to people from — who clean hotel rooms to small business owners all up and down the job spectrum. And people say and they do different things. They say they feel lousy about the economy, but they're spending. “They're spending their money and so they’re acting as if they have confidence in their job and they have confidence in the economy, but they're saying they feel really lousy,” she asserted. Romans continued to portray the public as the ones sending mixed signals about the economy: So there's this anxiety disconnect that I think has been the story of the post-Covid economy. And we'll see how that plays out, you know, five months, six months into an election, how do people really feel about the economy. They're doing one thing, they're saying another. The confusion of her arguments was also evident in her earlier statement regarding big purchases as clear proof of growing assurance in paychecks. Her understanding reflected failure to consider the fact that the basic necessities were more expensive, thus an increase in spending was not a sign of confidence.   The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: NBC’s Today 5/29/2024 07:13:44 CRAIG MELVIN: Folks, there's some positive news for the economy this morning. Consumer confidence rising in May for the first time in three months, signaling that Americans are feeling better about where things stand, but there are some lingering areas of concern when it comes to your wallet. NBC's senior business correspondent Christine Romans here to break it all down for us. Christine, always good to see you. CHRISTINE ROMANS: Good morning. MELVIN: It's usually a mixed bag with you, Christine. ROMANS: Yep. MELVIN: There's a little good news, there's a little not, so good news. So let's start with the good news. Consumer confidence up in May. What does that tell you about where we are right now? CHRISTINE ROMANS: It tells me that the job market — a very strong job market — is really supporting people's finances here. When you talk to people in this consumer confidence report, more people said they were looking to buy a car, more people said they were looking to buy an appliance. Those are things that suggest — HODA KOTB: Mmmm. ROMANS: — you have confidence in your paycheck. So, you saw this number rise, and it really is showing you the labor market is underpinning everything here. Also stock markets hitting record highs — KOTB: Mmhmm. ROMANS: — so people who have investments in their 401(k)s, at least on paper they're feeling a little bit better here. And you saw that in that number I think. SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let's talk about the housing market — KOTB: Mmhmm. GUTHRIE: — because it's sluggish — ROMANS: Yeah. GUTHRIE: — and the interest rates continue to dog it. KOTB: Mmhmm. ROMANS: And in that consumer confidence number, that was one thing that people said was a problem. They thought that interest rates were too high, and they didn't think they were going to come down anytime soon. You have mortgage rates that are now back below seven percent for the housing market. So that's good if you're trying to get in there, 6.94%. But there's just not — there — there's not enough — GUTHRIE: People are used to three percent! Yeah. ROMANS: — I know! And there's not enough houses on the market. You still have inventory. Just, there are more people who want to buy a house than there are houses on the market. So that is the real disconnect in the housing market. But you’re starting to see some energy in the urban areas. People are — want — getting in there, trying to buy homes again. Again, there's not enough supply in the market. KOTB: So, confidence is on the rise, and that's a good thing. ROMANS: Yeah. KOTB: But what about what Americans are actually seeing in their bank accounts? How is that changing? ROMANS: You know, affordability — KOTB: Yeah. ROMANS: — is a real problem here. People look at child care. KOTB: Yeah. ROMANS: They look at health care costs. They look at all these things in their life: home insurance, you know, car insurance, all these other things that have been going up. And they just feel like they're being nickelled and dimed. So, affordability is still a problem here. I've been going to swing states talking to people from — who clean hotel rooms to small business owners — MELVIN: Yeah. ROMANS: — all up and down the job spectrum. And people say and they do different things. They say they feel lousy about the economy, but they're spending. MELVIN: Right. [LAUGHING] HOTB: Mmhmm. ROMANS: They're spending their money and so they’re acting as if they have confidence — HOTB: Mmhmm. ROMANS:— in their job and they have confidence in the economy, but they're saying they feel really lousy. MELVIN: Mmm. ROMANS: So there's this anxiety disconnect — MELVIN: Yeah. ROMANS: — that I think has been the story of the post-Covid economy. And we'll see how that plays out, you know, five months, six months — MELVIN: Yeah. ROMANS: — into an election, how do people really feel about the economy. They're doing one thing, they're saying another. KOTB: Saying another. Okay. MELVIN: That would also explain why credit card debt is so high right now. KOTB: Yeah. ROMANS: Exactly. Exactly. KOTB: Yeah. MELVIN: Thank you, Christine. KOTB: Thanks, Christine. GUTHRIE: Thank you. (...)

Acosta Delighted Trump's Speech to Libertarians ‘Blew Up in His Face’

The Monday morning segment of CNN Newsroom featured a gleeful Jim Acosta boasting about former President Donald Trump’s combative reception and unsuccessful speech at the Libertarian National Convention. He was joined by The View’s Ana Navarro and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, both of whom took the opportunity to paint Trump as unnerved by an unfamiliar and unfriendly setting. After showing a clip of the Libertarian crowd booing Trump during his speech, Acosta remarked on what he understood as obvious discomfort at a hostile situation, asserting that Trump’s campaign team simply lost control of circumstances and failed in their task of protecting him from an awkward situation. “This does not happen to Donald Trump very much. I mean, as much as you know, we see these rowdy crowds at his own rallies. They are very careful about keeping him away from this kind of stuff and it just sort of blew up in his face," he gawked.     Cardona then launched into her own criticism, opining on Trump’s appearance that she suggested was evidently weak and flustered: “He looked discombobulated. He looked redder than usual, sweaty, deer in the headlights, because this is not the kind of reaction that he normally gets.” She further condemned his agenda as completely dictatorial, falsely citing his desire to control women and “so many communities,” as well as his intention to rob citizens of their right to vote: Donald Trump's agenda and his policies are the furthest thing from libertarian that you can get. And so it doesn't surprise me that when he is somebody who wants to tell women what to do with their bodies, who wants to take away people's rights to vote, who wants to essentially control so many communities within the United States and has said that he was going to be a dictator on day one, that's not something that Libertarians are going to support, and this is clearly the evidence of that. Navarro followed up, harping on Trump’s supposed helplessness and anxiety in a hostile environment, likening his MAGA supporters to a “protected bubble” and “mothership.” In her words, Trump “looked pained. He was grimacing during the entire time. He's obviously not used to being outside the mothership, outside his MAGA bubble.” Acosta replied by snidely agreeing, “Yeah, that was definitely not the mothership.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN’s Newsroom 5/27/2024 10:25:00 PM ET JIM ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump leaving his campaign safe space this weekend to seek the support of libertarian voters. It did not go over well. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP: The Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for President of the United States.  [Crowd boos] Whoa, that's nice. That's nice. [Transition] Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don't do that. Keep getting your three percent every four years. (END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Let's discuss now with CNN senior political commentator Ana Navarro and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Ladies, good to see both of you. Maria, let me start with you first. You're here in the studio with me, and, by the way, great to see you in person. I haven't seen you in person in some time since our friend, Alice. Anyway, let's talk about what happened over the weekend. This does not happen to Donald Trump very much. I mean, as much as you know, we see these rowdy crowds at his own rallies. They are very careful about keeping him away from this kind of stuff and it just sort of blew up in his face. MARIA CARDONA: That's what was so surprising for a campaign team this time around that is very focused on making sure that he doesn't get this kind of reaction. I think there's going to be some hell to pay within the campaign staff. He looked discombobulated. He looked redder than usual, sweaty, deer in the headlights, because this is not the kind of reaction that he normally gets. But, look, from a strategic standpoint, it shouldn't be surprising. Donald Trump's agenda and his policies are the furthest thing from libertarian that you can get. And so it doesn't surprise me that when he is somebody who wants to tell women what to do with their bodies, who wants to take away people's rights to vote, who wants to essentially control so many communities within the United States and has said that he was going to be a dictator on day one, that's not something that Libertarians are going to support, and this is clearly the evidence of that. ACOSTA: Yeah. Ana, what did you make of this when you saw this? ANA NAVARRO: You know, it was somewhat astounding, right? Because we are so used to seeing Donald Trump just in his little protected bubble of MAGA followers. But I also think that this is an acknowledgment by Trump and his campaign that MAGA followers are not going to get him into the White House. And that if he wants to get elected, he needs to go figure out how to appeal votes from other groups that may not be with him traditionally. Now, it's a heck of a way to try to campaign and get somebody's vote by talking down to them and saying, “Yeah, go ahead. Get your normal three percent you bunch of losers.” I mean, it was and he looked pained. He was grimacing during the entire time. He's obviously not used to being outside the mothership, outside his MAGA bubble. ACOSTA: Yeah, that was definitely not the mothership. (…)

Joy Reid Smears Justice Alito as Flag-Flying 'Lawless Individual'

Joy Reid, host of MSNBC’s The ReidOut, seized the opportunity to smear Justice Samuel Alito for flying what The New York Times classified as a “provocative flag” at his vacation home in New Jersey. At the end of her Wednesday conversation with Maya Wiley, a New York lawyer, and Tim Miller, self-proclaimed Never Trumper, Reid came to the ludicrous conclusion that Alito was a “lawless individual.” The flag in question was “An Appeal to Heaven” flag, whose origins date back to before the Revolutionary War. The New York Times re-branded the historic flag as “a symbol of support for former President Donald Trump, for a religious strand of the 'Stop the Steal' campaign and for a push to remake the government in Christian terms.” In fact, the flag serves as a reminder of the fundamental principles of justice and a relentless pursuit of liberty, on which the United States was founded and built. To Reid, however, the flag meant nothing more than a “Christian nationalist pro-Trump flag” representative of rabid insurrectionists. Ironically enough and perhaps unbeknownst to Reid, the flag was actually featured on Ron Swanson’s desk in NBC’s very own “Parks and Recreation.”     Reid then turned to Wiley, who took her turn with besmirching Alito and his opinion in the Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, outrageously opining that it reversed a “fundamental right in our country's history.” She further asserted that the decision reflected what “fundamentally was about a Christian position as opposed to a Constitutional position,” as if the Constitution was not authored by Founding Fathers whose beliefs and reasoning inherently aligned with Christian truths, despite the fact that not all were Christians themselves. Abortion was never a fundamental right in United States’ history.  Wiley used these examples to denounce Justices like Alito and Clarence Thomas for their apparent bias and argued they must be required to recuse themselves: “If we want to preserve the rule of law one of the things that it must include is that Justice Alito, or Justice Thomas, or any other one of these justices who have demonstrated that they either are biased, are bought, or or simply not concerned with the appearance, the very appearance of ethical violations must be required to recuse themselves. Must be!” MSNBC’s host readily agreed with her, summing up the argument with an absolute banger of a derogatory line to characterize Alito: “He is a lawless individual, a clear Christian nationalist and now a dual insurrection flag flier.” Does Reid know that a flag flown far more frequently than these flags of “insurrection” is the American flag? Will the country’s flag eventually be considered an insurrectionist flag too? It's become associated enough with Trump fans that it triggered MSNBC analyst Mara Gay as a "disturbing" event when pro-Trump trucks flew the red, white, and blue. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s The ReidOut 5/22/2024 07:14:52 PM ET JOY REID: And I'm sure all of you have at this point if you have a phone heard this new New York Times headline, “Another Provocative Flag” -interesting word- “Was Flown at Another Alito Home.” And here is The New York Times text: “Another provocative symbol was displayed at the vacation home of Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, in New Jersey, according to interviews and photographs.” “It was an Appeal to Heaven flag, which like the inverted U.S. flag was carried by rioters at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Also flown as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald Trump, for a religious strand of the ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign and for a push to remake the government in Christian terms.” I'm gonna let both of you comment on that. These are new photographs by The New York Times, Maya. So, now he's flying a Christian nationalist, pro-Trump flag as well. MAYA WILEY: Wonder if he's blaming that on his wife. REID: Martha-Ann is responsible for it all, apparently. WILEY: Apparently women are responsible for everything. REID: Yes. WILEY: And so, and let's go back to one of the things that we know Justice Alito penned, which is the first-ever reversal of a fundamental right in our country's history, when he penned the opinion that reversed Roe v. Wade, which really fundamentally was about a Christian position as opposed to a Constitutional position.  REID: Correct. Yes. WILEY: And I just think -- we have to be honest about ourselves in this country that if we want to preserve the rule of law one of the things that it must include is that Justice Alito, or Justice Thomas, or any other one of these justices who have demonstrated that they either are biased, are bought, or or simply not concerned with the appearance, the very appearance of ethical violations must be required to recuse themselves. Must be. REID: Any yet, they cannot be required, Tim. He is a lawless individual, a clear Christian nationalist and now a dual insurrection flag flier.

Reid Whines: Media Not Calling Trump Nazi, Hitler Enough!

MSNBC’s host Joy Reid pounced on a since-deleted video posted to  former President Trump’s Truth Social account. The video – made by a third party – briefly flashed the words “unified Reich” in a series of newspaper clippings. Reid characterized the post as a definitive representation of Trump’s fascist views, and ridiculously suggested that no one in the media was talking about it and that no one was calling him a Nazi. In addition, she repeatedly referenced several fascist leaders, especially Adolf Hitler, and accused other conservatives of relentlessly promoting fascist thought through their opinions and policies. After playing the now-deleted campaign ad, Reid ridiculously proclaimed: “As per usual, much of the media is downplaying the fact that the Republican nominee is once again using Nazi language.”     She drew attention to some of Trump’s associations and past comments, claiming they indubitably prove he was just like Hitler. She even said, “Donald Trump was proud that someone once compared him to Adolf Hitler.” The someone Reid referred to was former German Chancellor Angela Merkel who once praised Trump’s ability to attract large crowds. In Trump’s own words, “She told me she was amazed at the size of the crowds that came to see me speak. She said she could never get crowds like that. In fact, she told me that there was only one other political leader who ever got crowds as big as mine.” However, Merkel never explicitly named Hitler and while the comparison can be easily inferred, it remained doubtful whether Trump himself grasped the significance of the statement. Turning her ire toward other Republicans, she spun a conspiracy theory that everyone else in the party was priming the pump for a new Reich: “His fellow Republicans don't seem all that bothered. They go to extraordinary lengths to defend him, which is super weird, since they’ve spent the past six months painting Joe Biden and Democrats as pinko anti-Semites.” Later on, she again harped on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s pardon of Daniel Perry, which NewsBusters previously addressed, that “Republicans are already enforcing [Trump’s] vision” of promising “to grant immunity to all police officers so they're free to kill anyone like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Roger Fortson.” “Perry will now walk free and joined Kyle Rittenhouse and George Zimmerman as Republican celebrities and heroes praised for killing perceived enemies of the right or the Reich, per Donald's post,” she chided. The segment continued with the MSNBC host’s interview of former Republican strategist Matthew Dowd, where she again brought up her gripe about the media. “What is it going to take to get the media to take seriously the fact that Donald Trump is acting like a Nazi, talking like a Nazi, and now posting like a Nazi?” she lamented. And so it appears our study of Godwin’s Law in the media holds fast. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC's The ReidOut 5/21/2024 7:35:31 PM ET JOY REID: Yesterday, Donald Trump posted a video on his social media account. The video, which was a preview of a second Trump administration, promotes the mass deportation of migrants, standard Trump Fascist fare at this point. But it also references a “unified Reich.” You can faintly see it right there on a news clipping in the video. The meme was created by a group that collaborates with the Trump campaign. [The campaign ad] REID: The video has been deleted and the campaign tried to distance itself from the post, but here's the thing. Back in April, Trump told his followers only himself and longtime advisor Dan Scavino have access to his Truth Social account. Here’s another thing. Donald Trump was proud that someone once compared him to Adolf Hitler. He once praised Hitler for doing “some good things.” He uses Nazi rhetoric, denies, I mean, dines with neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and publicly defends them. [Cuts to video] DONALD TRUMP: We will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country. [Transition] Nobody has ever seen anything like what we're witnessing now. It's a very sad thing for our country. It's poisoning the blood of our country. [Transition] I think there's blame on both sides. You look at -- you look at both sides. I think there's blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. [Cuts back to live] REID: As per usual, much of the media is downplaying the fact that the Republican nominee is once again using Nazi language. His fellow Republicans don't seem all that bothered. They go to extraordinary lengths to defend him, which is super weird, since they’ve spent the past six months painting Joe Biden and Democrats as pinko anti-Semites. Here’s another thing. Donald Trump wants white nationalists to think he's great. He has said so. Jonathan Karl recently reported that back in 2016 when former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tried to get him to disavow David Duke's endorsement, Trump told him, quote, “those people vote too.” And they have a reason to like what he's offering. He's promised to grant immunity to all police officers so they're free to kill anyone like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Roger Fortson. He's promised to launch national raids to round up 15 million migrants, place them in internment camps and mass deport them. And he plans on using the National Guard to police Democratic cities and use force to put down protests and restore, quote/unquote, “law and order.” In 2020, he told Mark Esper he wanted the military to shoot protesters in Washington, D.C. During the protests over George Floyd's murder. And Republicans are already enforcing his vision. Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott granted a full pardon and restoration of rights to Daniel Perry who was working as a rideshare driver in downtown Austin on July 25th, 2020, when he shot and killed 28-year-old Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran who was participating in a George Floyd protest. Daniel Perry is an open racist who posted things on Facebook like, “It is official, I am a racist, because I do not agree with people acting like animals at the zoo.” And, “I might go to Dallas and shoot looters.” That was before he went to Austin and shot Garrett Foster. Abbott argued that Perry had a right to kill, because Texas has one of the strongest Stand Your Ground laws. Abbott's pardon didn't address Perry's apparent grooming of a 16-year-old teenager, which is odd since the Governor is a champion of banning books that supposedly sexualize children. Perry will now walk free and joined Kyle Rittenhouse and George Zimmerman as Republican celebrities and heroes praised for killing perceived enemies of the right or the Reich, per Donald's post.  Joining me now is Matthew Dowd, former Republican strategist and MSNBC senior political analyst. And I guess I'll just ask you from somebody who's sitting outside of the media window, what is it going to take to get the media to take seriously the fact that Donald Trump is acting like a Nazi, talking like a Nazi, and now posting like a Nazi? (…)

Reid Floats Copious Conspiracies of GOP Priming Trump ‘Dictatorship’

In Monday evening’s edition of The ReidOut, MSNBC’s Joy Reid took a stab at apparent conservative “distress,” explaining their recent actions as irrational efforts to advance an impending Trump “dictatorship.” Her chief targets included former White House Personnel Director John McEntee, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, NFL kicker Harrison Butker, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, among others. Reid attacked McEntee’s involvement in Project 2025, labeling it as “the plan for the Trump dictatorship.” She went on to list a series of miseries that plague conservatives, whom she collectivized as “the Alitos and McEntees of the world.” These included: “out-of-control liberated women who won't marry conservative men, have babies, and give up no-fault divorce, people who keep insisting that Black Lives Matter, immigrants of course, and accurate history that doesn’t always make the white guys look good.”      McEntee wasn’t the only alleged culprit. Reid criticized Youngkin’s veto of two bills protecting access to contraception in Virginia. She failed to note, however, that Youngkin vetoed the bills because they specifically excluded parental rights in making medical decisions for their children.  In the same sentence, suggesting Youngkin’s hand in the matter, she announced the decisions of two Virginia school boards to keep the names of Confederate generals on schools. In reality, only the Shenandoah County School Board made this change and Youngkin, in a press conference four days after the decision, told a reporter he was unaware of the situation.  Reid also added her own spin on Butker’s commencement speech, hilariously oversimplifying his statements as telling “a graduating class, including scores of women, that their degrees are a lie and they should just embrace their true vocation of making their husbands a sandwich.”  In Butker’s actual words, he first congratulated the female graduates on their accomplishment, adding that “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.” She further commented on Abbott’s recent pardon of Daniel Perry, a man convicted of shooting and killing a Black Lives Matter activist. Reid didn’t bother to explain that the pardon was granted on the basis of Texas’ “Stand Your Ground” law, which protects the right of self-defense using deadly force.  The MSNBC host falsely asserted that Perry, an Uber driver, simply “[drove] his car into a group of pedestrian marchers,” though he actually stopped his car when he reached the intersection blocked by protestors and allowed some of them to cross. It was then that Garrett Foster, one of the activists, allegedly raised his weapon, an AK-47, prompting Perry to fire his own revolver. Reid summed up the entire situation by stating it occurred “Because in Texas, the only thing actually illegal is trying to vote while black and on parole.” Foster was white. Reid closed out the segment by tying the stories together as an “answer to the Alito question,” mockingly pondering “Who do MAGA believe is in distress, such that they need a King Trump to put things right again?” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s The ReidOut 5/20/2024 07:52:58 PM ET JOY REID: John McEntee is a big part of Project 2025, the plan for the Trump dictatorship, and he would be in charge of personnel again in a new Trump administration. McEntee is the kind of guy who is in distress, in the MAGA mind. And the cause of the distress for the Alitos and McEntees of the world, are out-of-control liberated women who won't marry conservative men, have babies, and give up no-fault divorce, people who keep insisting that Black Lives Matter, immigrants of course, and accurate history that doesn’t always make the white guys look good. And John McEntee and his friends at Project 2025 aren’t the only ones with a plan to fix it. Just in the last week, Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed two bills that would protect access to contraception in Virginia and two Virginia school boards put the names of Confederate generals back onto schools, meaning black students in the schools will be forced to venerate men who enslaved their ancestors while not being allowed to learn true facts about slavery or read books by a number of black authors. NFL kicker and "fashion pics with Bible quotes" aficionado, Harrison Butker, told a graduating class, including scores of women, that their degrees are a lie and they should just embrace their true vocation of making their husbands a sandwich. And Texas governor Greg Abbott granted a full pardon to a man who was convicted by a jury of shooting a Black Lives Matter activist dead, after threatening and racist rants on his social media that he wanted to do just that, and then driving his car into a group of pedestrian marchers. Because in Texas, the only thing actually illegal is trying to vote while black and on parole. Did I mention that if you’re pregnant, it’s illegal to get a divorce in Missouri? Scores of U.S. states allow child marriage and Project 2025 includes the national abortion ban. I know these stories don't seem obviously related, but they are. They are the answer to the Alito question. Who do MAGA believe is in distress, such that they need a “King Trump” to put things right again?