In the moments following Hillary Clinton’s “heartfelt” remarks on the economy, MSNBC on Tuesday showered the candidate with their ritualistic, post-appearance bravado. Correspondent Kristen Welker described the occasion as one where Clinton “turned up the heat on Trump.” As for reporter Kasie Hunt, the speech was one from a candidate who is “in a groove.”
KRISTEN WELKER: Kasie, your main takeaways from the speech, it was a lot like that speech she gave on foreign policy.
KASIE HUNT: It was, Kristen and I think that some of what we saw in many ways for the first time comes through from Hillary Clinton the candidate kind of in a groove. You also saw today on stage in this speech and there was a lot of focus on the campaign on the idea they wanted to show how Donald Trump has approached the economy instead of just telling. So that's why you heard her repeat all those quotes. And one moment that stuck out to me was when she talked about how she was getting this material from her team and they were sending it over and she herself was looking at all of it and saying, really, really, he really said that? It was one of those moments that seem to illuminate a little bit how Hillary Clinton herself feels about running against Donald Trump.
Given that Clinton and her allies have been hammering Trump for weeks, it is hard to believe she could be flabbergasted by his comments. Hunt went on to suggest that Clinton’s “heartfelt approach” took the form of arguments being “prosecuted” one after the other:
HUNT: But I would also say she prosecuted these arguments kind of one after the other. I want to show you one piece where she talked about whether or not Trump actually believes in what he says about manufacturing goods in America. Take a look.
HILLARY CLINTON: Trump ties are made in China. Trump suits in Mexico. Trump furniture in Turkey. Trump picture frames in India. Trump bar-wear in Slovenia. And I could go on and on, but you get the idea. And I'd love for him to explain how all that fits with his talk about America first.
HUNT: So there you have one piece of what she had to say there. I think you again had that kind of heartfelt approach.
Where was the heartfelt approach in addressing the economy? The only emotional component of this speech was MSNBC’s infatuation-driven synopsis that followed. Clinton’s remarks had less to do with the economy, and more to do with her Republican opponent.
No wonder MSNBC loved them.
View Full Transcript Here:
06-21-16 MSNBC Live
1:00:40 PM- 1:05:18 PM
KRISTEN WELKER: Trump versus Clinton heading into overdrive, Hillary Clinton moments ago turning up the heat on Trump, this time over the economy and his own business record.
HILLARY CLINTON: Just like he shouldn't have his finger on the button, he shouldn't have his hands on our economy.CLINTON: You have to ask yourself, what is he afraid of? Maybe that we'll learn he hasn't paid taxes on his huge income or maybe he isn't as rich as he claims. Or, that he hasn't given away as much to charity as he brags about. He's written a lot of books about businesses, they all seem to end at chapter 11.
WELKER: Trump promising a rebuttal speech tomorrow, looking to shift headlines from his dismal fundraising numbers and that big campaign shake up. By every metric Clinton is winning the cash race, her campaign, her Super PAC, both crushing Trump's. She ended in the month of May with $42 million in the bank, Trump just $1.3 million. Both Trump and his fired campaign manager however sweeping aside concerns in interviews this morning, suggesting Trump can self-fund.
DONALD TRUMP: I spent $55 million of my own money to win the primaries. I have a lot of cash and I may do it again for the general election, it would be nice to have some help from the party.COREY LEWANDOWSKI: He can self-fund this campaign. He can put $40 million, $50 million, $100 million into this campaign right this very second and be even or ahead.
WELKER: Trump is also trying to frame Clinton's millions as a negative, suggesting foreign policy could lead to corruption.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton will spend a billion dollars of Wall Street money and money from the Middle East. She's got a lot of money from the Middle East. She got money from people you don't want her to have money from.
WELKER: He's of course suggesting that foreign money could lead up to corruption. But when you combine the money with the poll numbers it all points to a Trump's campaign and critical condition. Clinton up six points in the new online weekly tracking poll from NBC News and Survey Monkey. That's pretty much in line with the latest general election polls including one from CNN and ORC which finds her up five points.KRISTEN WELKER: We have three reports now on how the campaigns are framing the fund raising number and polls. NBC's Kasie Hunt is in Columbus in Ohio with the Clinton Campaign and I want to start right there. Kasie your main takeaway's from the speech, it was a lot like that speech she gave on foreign policy.
KASIE HUNT: It was, Kristen and I think that some of what we saw in many ways for the first time comes through from Hillary Clinton the candidate kind of in a groove. You also saw today on stage in this speech and there was a lot of focus on the campaign on the idea they wanted to show how Donald Trump has approached the economy instead of just telling. So that's why you heard her repeat all those quotes. And one moment that stuck out to me was when she talked about how she was getting this material from her team and they were sending it over and she herself was looking at all of it and saying, really, really, he really said that? It was one of those moments that seem to illuminate a little bit how Hillary Clinton herself feels about running against Donald Trump.
HUNT: But I would also say she prosecuted these arguments kind of one after the other. I want to show you one piece where she talked about whether or not Trump actually believes in what he says about manufacturing goods in America. Take a look.
CLINTON: Trump ties are made in China. Trump suits in Mexico. Trump furniture in Turkey. Trump picture frames in India. Trump bar-wear in Slovenia. And I could go on and on, but you get the idea. And I'd love for him to explain how all that fits with his talk about America first.
HUNT: So there you have one piece of what she had to say there. I think you again had that kind of heartfelt approach. Now I will say one, one section of the speech where she talked about relating to American's economic frustrations was one that stood out to me as okay, this is why the economy is a difficult subject, because many people just are not feeling the Obama recovery in their day-to-day lives. And she said I do understand the frustration, but the reality is Trump has really embodied it and I do think that's going to be a continued challenge for her going forward especially if the Trump campaign manages to pivot and execute the changes that they're promising in the wake of Corey Lewandowski's departure. Kristen.
