MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell began her Monday show by enthusiastically touting Joe Biden's likely nominations to key cabinet and national security posts as a departure from the Republican hacks that President Trump has chosen. White House correspondent Geoff Bennett agreed and even parroted Biden's proclamation that "America is back."
Mitchell used Avril Haines, who Biden intends to nominate as director of national intelligence, as an example. "She's an experienced intelligence professional, worked for years at the CIA, has been handling the national security team, the transition for Joe Biden on national security and is a respected intelligence professional."
Let's resist the joke that this means Avril's an experienced and respected leaker to the liberal media.
But her greatest qualification, according to Mitchell, is that she's not a Republican. "That would be a big change from Congressman John Ratcliffe, the partisan Republican now in the post, and before that as acting DNI former spokesman for John Bolton at the U.N. And former Ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell."
Bizarrely, the woman running the Democrat's transition team is nonpartisan? Who worked in the Obama-Biden administration, and donated to Obama?
For Bennett, Biden's goal for these nominations could be seen in nominating Tony Blinken to be secretary of state, "It is a signal to the world, a signal to the federal bureaucracy, to use Joe Biden’s phrase, that America is back, and that repairing America's footing on the world stage is an urgent goal, it's a primary goal and to your point." Stenography to power is back in vogue.
Blinken, along with Linda Thomas-Greenfield as Ambassador to the United Nations, are ways for Biden to signal that the bad days of Trump are over and it "is really seen as boosting morale within the Foreign Service, Andrea."
Of course, America never went anywhere. Over the last four years, America has helped broker three Israeli-Arab peace deals and America is more engaged in Asia than it was four years ago. Just because Mitchell and Bennett agree with the Europeans on certain issues does not mean America left the world stage.
This Biden-boosting segment was sponsored by Progressive.
Here is a transcript of the November 23 show:
MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:02 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Geoff Bennett, let's talk about the expected choices. I'm also told that Avril Haines is the top contender to be the new director of national intelligence. She's an experienced intelligence professional, worked for years at the CIA, has been handling the national security team, the transition for Joe Biden on national security and is a respected intelligence professional. That would be a big change from Congressman John Ratcliffe, the partisan Republican now in the post, and before that as acting DNI former spokesman for John Bolton at the U.N. And former ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell.
GEOFF BENNETT: Yeah. That's right. I think it's worth noting, Andrea, the intent behind President-Elect Joe Biden building out his cabinet by starting first based on our reporting with his pick for secretary of state. It is a signal to the world, a signal to the federal bureaucracy, to use Joe Biden’s phrase, that America is back, and that repairing America's footing on the world stage is an urgent goal, it's a primary goal and to your point, Tony Blinken is a longtime Biden aide. He served as Biden's national security adviser when he was vice president. Before that he was a trusted aide when Joe Biden was a senator. Blinken himself, as you know, served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration.He's also elevating Jake Sullivan to national security adviser. Jake Sullivan is 15 years younger than Tony Blinken, but the two I'm told are close friends. And Sullivan himself is an experienced State Department, former state department official, and then you've got Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She is a career foreign service officer, experienced in Sub-Saharan Africa policy. And the fact that she is now being appointed U.N. Ambassador in that role as we're told will be restored to a cabinet position, is really seen as boosting morale within the Foreign Service, Andrea.
