A primary election night on MSNBC wouldn’t be complete without a helping of notable quotes from breaking news anchor Brian Williams and Tuesday was no exception as he hailed Hillary Clinton’s June 2 foreign policy speech and praised the vicious New York Daily News for doing a “superb job” with their covers smearing conservatives and Republicans.
Returning from a commercial break in the 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, a clip was shown of Clinton’s 2008 concession speech in which she famously told supporters the following: “Although, we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest class ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.”
The disgraced former NBC Nightly News anchor then appeared on screen to pontificate that the speech from June 7, 2008 was “[a]lways called the speech of her political career....until this last speech on foreign policy, which a lot of analysts gave the nod to.”
Williams’s head-shaking analysis returned in the next hour when he smirked as he revealed the Wednesday morning cover of the New York Daily News that showed Paul Ryan and Donald Trump with the line “I’m with the racist” between them. Since then, the tabloid decided that this would not be the cover and replaced it with fawning pro-Hillary Clinton one.
With audible giggles from those nearby ranging from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, political analyst Nicolle Wallace, and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, Williams ruled: “Say what you will about the New York Daily News, they've done a superb job this cycle of marketing their covers for the next day based on political results the night before.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s The Place for Politics 2016 on June 7 can be found below.
MSNBC’s The Place for Politics 2016
June 7, 2016
7:20 p.m. EasternHILLARY CLINTON [on 06/07/08]: Although, we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest class ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Always called the speech of her political career. That is until this last speech on foreign policy, which a lot of analysts gave the nod to. Eight years ago tonight, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
(....)
8:26 p.m. Eastern
WILLIAMS: And speaking of Donald Trump and Paul Ryan, control room tells me we have the cover of tomorrow's New York Daily News.
RACHEL MADDOW: Ah, New York Daily News.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Oh, gosh.
MADDOW: A-. Grade: A-.
WILLIAMS: Say what you will about the New York Daily News, they've done a superb job this cycle of marketing their covers —
MADDOW: Yes.
WILLIAMS: — for the next day based on political results the night before.
