On Sunday's AM Joy on MSNBC, frequent guest Elie Mystal of AboveTheLaw.com made the kind of statement about a "majority of white people" that would be considered blatantly bigoted or racist if aimed at any other group, as he stated that it is necessary for Democrats to "destroy" whites who support President Donald Trump.
Mystal -- who has had a reputation for making incendiary comments in his MSNBC appearances over the past year -- made his comments during a segment in which panel members got to rail against whites who support President Trump.
At about 11:09 a.m. Eastern, host Joy Reid blamed a desire for money for some who have associated with Trump because of his wealth: "At the end of the day, people want money … People just want the money. And so a lot of people are willing to say, 'I don't care how violence -- I don't care how many kids lose their parents -- I don't care. I just want money.'"
Mystal began excoriating whites as he responded:
Remember, this is a facet of white America, right? Racism and oppression always come with an economic argument attached to it, right? I'm sure if we went back in the day, like, Antebellum Cycle, were saying, 'Well, I'm not in it for the slavery, but I do want those cheap, cotton tees,' right? Like I'm sure that's what was happening, right?"
He also referred to the recent ICE raids on illegal immigrants in Mississippi as he continued:
Look, I disagree with people who think there is a moral distinction between people who are excited by the racism, versus people who are merely indifferent to the racism. There is no moral distinction. There cannot be a distinction because, you know why? The people -- the children who are orphaned on the streets of Mississippi see no moral distinction because Steven Ross got a tax cut to look the other way while their parents were being abducted.
He added: "These Trump supporters are just as complicit in his cruelty as the man himself."
A bit later, host Reid wondered what the best way is to reason with Trump supporters, leading liberal talk radio host Dean Obeidallah to recall white Trump supporters calling in and declaring that Trump makes them feel "proud" of being white, Mystal jumped in to recommend "destroying" the "majority" of whites who are Trump supporters:
You don't communicate it to them -- you beat them. Beat them. They are not a majority of this country. The majority of white people in this country are not a majority of the country. And all the people who are not fooled by this need to come together, go to the polls, go to the protests, do whatever you have to do. You do not negotiate with these people -- you destroy them.
Near the end of the show, as members of the group were asked to divulge their choice of a news maker who deserves to be honored from the past week, Mystal rather bizarrely seemed to think that it was somehow a good thing to refrain from using one's gun to fight against the El Paso mass shooter.
As he rightly praised a Walmart shopper, Glendon Oakley, for taking the time to transport several children to safety, he also strangely praised him specifically for not using his own gun to try to fight back: "In the El Paso shooting, he was armed, but he put his gun down, and what did he do? He went and he saved children. He carried them out in his bare hands, carrying them away from danger."
It is right to praise Oakley for stopping to help children, but it also sounds like Mystal actually believes there is something wrong with a licensed gun owner using a weapon for self-defense.
