If Democrats and their allies in the media are trying to convince the country that the current impeachment proceedings are not a farce, MSNBC's Friday impeachment pre-game show did not help in advancing that goal. According to the assembled cast of journalists and commentators, Republicans were "jerks" who were destroying the legacies of their family members who worked for past Democrat administrations.
Host Nicolle Wallace began by confusing her metaphors while attacking President Trump's Russia policy: "Donald Trump walked in like an elephant in the China shop and smashed decades of American national security."
Responding to Republican arguments about former Ambassador Bill Taylor and George Kent's second and third hand accounts of the current controversy, Wallace attacked Republicans and singled out Devin Nunes for criticism:
This week’s witnesses are not about Democratic witnesses or -- the Republicans have been such jerks, but one of the most obnoxious things Devin Nunes said was “You’re their star witness,” they’re not anybody’s stars witness, they’re Americans. They're American diplomats there to protect American national security.
Joe Scarborough then decided to make things personal telling David Ignatius that Trump was reversing the legacy of his father, LBJ's Secretary of the Navy, Paul Ignatius and Mika Brzezinski's father, former national security advisor to Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski:
David, your father, as well as Mika's father dedicated their lives to promoting American values across the globe, defending American interests across the globe against the Soviet Union, against Russia, a Russia who now, they wanted to go back to the Middle East. Donald Trump has opened the door, let them in the Middle East. They want the world to believe Ukraine’s not a real country, that it’s part of the old Soviet Union. Donald Trump has said that Ukraine’s not a real country.
Ignatius continued in the same vein, "We just celebrated by dad's 99th birthday two days ago, a few days ago and I think of his generation, Mika’s dad, people who were public servants, who believed in America's purpose in the world." He then tried to give "public servants" credit for the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As the day's proceedings with former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch prepared to get underway, Ignatius said that impeachment is a good thing: "This is a wonderful moment, again I hope Americans think about their foreign service. People like her, like Ambassador Taylor, like George Kent who have been out there serving their country."
Here is the transcript for the November 15 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Impeachment Coverage
9:03 AM ET
NICOLLE WALLACE: Donald Trump walked in like an elephant in the China shop and smashed decades of—
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: YES
WALLACE: American national security. This week’s witnesses are not about Democratic witnesses or -- the Republicans have been such jerks, but one of the most obnoxious things Devin Nunes said was “You’re their star witness,” they’re not anybody’s stars witness, they’re Americans. They're American diplomats there to protect American national security.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: David, your father, as well as Mika's father dedicated their lives to promoting American values across the globe. Defending American interests across the globe against the Soviet Union, against Russia, a Russia who now, they wanted to go back to the Middle East, Donald Trump has opened the door, let them in the Middle East. They want the world to believe Ukraine’s not a real country, that it’s part of the old Soviet Union. Donald Trump has said that Ukraine’s a real country.
DAVID IGNATIUS: It doesn’t seem to matter to him except in terms of his own personal political interests. We just celebrated by dad's 99th birthday two days ago, a few days ago and I think of his generation, Mika’s dad, people who were public servants, who believed in America's purpose in the world. Let’s not forget we just celebrated this last week, the fall of the Berlin Wall. A moment in which all those years of disciplined dedication, commitment to America and its values, lead to a kind of victory and I hope as people watch Ambassador Yovanovitch this morning as the hearing’s getting ready to start, they’ll think of her out there on the front lines. She was an ambassador, a career diplomat for 33 years and had that continually year after year, advocacy of America and its purposes. This is a wonderful moment, again I hope Americans think about their foreign service. People like her, like Ambassador Taylor, like George Kent who have been out there serving their country.
