No one who follows MSNBC would be at all surprised that the Republicans who appear regularly as analysts on the blatantly liberal news network would trash Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore after his primary victory yesterday, but MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace had one of the most bizarre responses as she actually claimed that some of his more controversial statements are too "abhorrent" to even be shown on television.
And right-leaning guest John Podhoretz even went so far as to invoke former KKK leader David Duke, and slammed Moore as a "jerk," deriding him as "gross."
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET, Wallace devoted the first segment of her Deadline: White House show to Moore's win, and made the first of three suggestions that the liberal snowflakes in her audience could not handle actually hearing some of his past comments. Here's Wallace:
The man who won -- Roy Moore -- has said things that are so controversial and outside boundaries of civilized discourse -- even in the time of Trump -- that we can't show you his past comments on issues like September 11, homosexuality, birtherism, Muslims or Islam.
Moments later, as she posed a question to Megan Murphy of Bloomberg Businessweek, the MSNBC host reiterated:
We tried to put together a reel to show our viewers who we're guessing aren't super-conversant in Roy Moore's background, but we literally cannot show people on tape the things he's said about September 11, about homosexuality, about -- his racial slurs that he used as a candidate in this race.
She then posed: "So what does it say that Republicans now have to get -- if they want to be for the Republican in the Alabama Senate race, they've got to be for this Republican?"
A bit later, right-leaning MSNBC contributor John Podhoretz excoriated Justice Moore as he commented: "And that was a stunt, and he's a stunt thrower, and he's a flame thrower -- he's a provocateur, and he's a jerk and he's gross."
As Podhoretz suggested that Democrats should have voted in the Republican primary to prevent Moore from winning, he worked in a David Duke reference:
I think that one thing that is little discussed is that Democrats could have voted yesterday in Alabama. They could have crossed the line -- it's an open primary. They could have voted for Strange to prevent Moore from becoming the nominee the way -- again, this wasn't a primary -- but the way that Republicans voted for Buddy Roemer in 1991 in Louisiana to prevent David Duke from becoming a Senator.
Notably, his history was slightly wrong as Duke ran for governor of Louisiana in 1991, and some Republicans voted for Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards in the runoff, helping elect the Democrat as governor.
But it would have been less provocative and even more apropos if Podhoretz had cited a more recent example that came in 2014 when Democrats voted in Mississippi's Republican primary to help Senate Thad Cochran retain his seat.
Podhoretz then intoned:
And if that is not -- you know -- there's an overall obligation here in a time of horror when a horrible candidate is coming where citizenship sort of demands you make painful and difficult choices sometimes to prevent your state from, you know, being dishonored.
Wallace was amused at her guest trashing Justice Moore as she referred to one of her other guests -- MSNBC contributor Glenn Thrush -- and quipped: "Glenn Thrush almost fell off his chair when you called him a 'jerk,' so let me bring you back in on the topic of jerks."
After returning to Podhoretz, Wallace mused over the possibility of Senate Republicans refusing to support Moore's Senate run:
Is anyone in the Senate -- are any Republicans going to say, "I don't want to be in the same party as Roy Moore. I'm not going to be for him -- I'm not endorsing him -- I'm not backing him"? Because that, to me, could save the Republican -- you might lose a seat, but you might save the Republican party.
For the third time, Wallace commented that Moore had made statements that she was unable to show on television: "So this guy has said things that are so abhorrent, I can't say them on cable, and you think Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan -- you think all these guys are going to get behind him?"
In the next hour, her MSNBC colleague Chuck Todd did notably run clips of some of Moore's past comments on his MTP Daily show that Wallace was apparenty afraid to acknowledge.
Wallace concluded the segment on an emotional note as she declared that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell deserves to lose his seat if he supports Moore: "He's going to do that, and then Roy Moore is going to help run a coup to get him out of his seat, and, Mitch McConnell, you'll deserve it. All right, we're hitting pause. I'm getting too mad."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Wednesday, September 27, Deadline: White House on MSNBC:
4:02 p.m ET
NICOLLE WALLACE: The man who won -- Roy Moore -- has said things that are so controversial and outside boundaries of civilized discourse -- even in the time of Trump -- that we can't show you his past comments on issues like September 11, homosexuality, birtherism, Muslims or Islam.
(...)
WALLACE: We tried to put together a reel to show our viewers who we're guessing aren't super-conversant in Roy Moore's background, but we literally cannot show people on tape the things he's said about September 11, about homosexuality, about -- his racial slurs that he used as a candidate in this race. So what does it say that Republicans now have to get -- if they want to be for the Republican in the Alabama Senate race, they've got to be for this Republican?
MEGAN MURPHY: People in the media talk a lot about normalizing now. Let's not normalize this by calling it "anti-establishment." This is far more than anti-establishment. These views are so extreme -- and let's just talk about one about homosexuality. This is very recent -- very recent commentary comparing it to bestiality, comparing it on the same level, refusing repeatedly to accept judicial standards on same-sex marriage. This is not anti-establishment behavior. He's best known in his state for the stance he's taken on social issues.
So what does it leave us with? It leaves us with, "Yes, the threat that money that other establishment candidates are at risk for possible challenges. But it also shows the trajectory of this country and, frankly, what a force Steve Bannon and that wing of the Republican party remain with this populist sentiment still running so hard. This isn't even populist -- this is a throwback basically to a prior age of Republican politics.
JOHN PODHORETZ: Not even Republican politics -- this is prior Southern politics.
(...)
MURPHY: He refuses to accept the rule of law. He refuses to accept the rule of law.
PODHORETZ: And that was a stunt, and he's a stunt thrower, and he's a flame thrower -- he's a provocateur, and he's a jerk and he's gross. Having said all that -- having said all that, which I think is an important point -- I think that one thing that is little discussed is that Democrats could have voted yesterday --
WALLACE: For Strange.
PODHORETZ: -- in Alabama. They could have crossed the line -- it's an open primary. They could have voted for Strange to prevent Moore from becoming the nominee the way -- again, this wasn't a primary -- but the way that Republicans voted for Buddy Roemer in 1991 in Louisiana to prevent David Duke from becoming a Senator.
And if that is not -- you know -- there's an overall obligation here in a time of horror when a horrible candidate is coming where citizenship sort of demands you make painful and difficult choices sometimes to prevent your state from, you know, being dishonored.
WALLACE: Glenn Thrush almost fell off his chair when you called him a "jerk," so let me bring you back in on the topic of jerks.
(...)
WALLACE: Is anyone in the Senate -- are any Republicans going to say, "I don't want to be in the same party as Roy Moore. I'm not going to be for him -- I'm not endorsing him -- I'm not backing him"? Because that, to me, could save the Republican -- you might lose a seat, but you might save the Republican party.
PODHORETZ: You think it would matter if Republicans --
WALLACE: I think -- so this guy has said things that are so abhorrent, I can't say them on cable, and you think Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan -- you think all these guys are going to get behind him?
PODHORETZ: I think they won't talk about it -- and, by the way, Mitch McConnell has already said, "We will do what we have to do to get Roy Moore elected," so your answer is, "No, they won't."
WALLACE: He's going to do that, and then Roy Moore is going to help run a coup to get him out of his seat, and, Mitch McConnell, you'll deserve it. All right, we're hitting pause. I'm getting too mad.
