As MSNBC's weekend shows devoted a number of segments to Joe Biden's declaration that "you ain't black" if you're considering voting for Donald Trump over him, the liberal news network lived up to its reputation of being DNCTV as a number of Democrats, but not Republicans, were included in discussions of the presumptive Democratic nominee's gaffe.
In particular, the hours hosted by anchor Alicia Menendez were heavy on Democratic guests whom she actually pressed from the left on appealing to the Democratic base and advocates for illegal immigrants.
On Saturday afternoon, during the 4:00 p.m. Eastern time block that she hosts, Menendez gave Biden campaign advisor Julie Chavez Rodriguez a forum to react to the criticism against Biden. Later in the interview, after asking her guest what the campaign would do to shore up an "enthusiasm gap," citing polls suggesting minorities are not excited about voting for Biden, Rodriguez talked up ways Biden could appeal to black and Hispanic Democrats, leading the MSNBC anchor to further press her from the left by following up:
ALICIA MENENDEZ: There's also been a commitment to a comprehensive immigration proposal with a pathway to citizenship on day one. As you know, immigration groups have been burnt by promises like this before. What will the Vice President actually do to get this done?
No attention was given to whether the nominee would need to appeal to voters outside the Democratic base.
On Sunday afternoon, also during the 4:00 p.m. block, Menendez spoke with liberal MSNBC contributor Zerlina Maxwell and Democratic strategist Emmy Ruiz about the Biden gaffe. She even included a clip of Florida Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings arguing that blacks should still vote for Biden.
Neither guest received pushback on their left-leaning commentary, with Ruiz making the latest tired charge that Republicans try to stop minorities from voting:
EMMY RUIZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, I think they're playing politics. They're taking his words -- many times out of context -- for impacting and depressing the vote for the Latino community -- for young voters -- for black voters. I mean, that's part of the reason, for example, they have gone as far as changing so many laws to literally keep our communities from voting and making our voices heard.
This hour in particular was heavy on Democratic guests as there were segments devoted to other issues. After New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland appeared in a segment to discuss the high rates of Covid-19 illness in Native American populations, Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro was given a forum to complain about the Trump administration deporting illegal immigrants more quickly than usual during the pandemic.
Menendez -- in typical fashion for MSNBC journalists -- did not bother to specify that those being deported are illegals as she set up the segment:
ALICIA MENENDEZ: The Trump administration continues to push for more immigration restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. The administration indefinitely extended border restrictions which authorized the immediate removal of immigrants even seeking asylum to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Migrant children are bearing the brunt of harsher restrictions as reports show unaccompanied migrant children have been deported at quicker rates. And immigrants in family ICE detention centers have reportedly had to choose between releasing their children or staying together in detention indefinitely.
Below are transcripts of relevant portions of MSNBC Live from Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24:
MSNBC
MSNBC LIve
Saturday, May 23
4:15 p.m. Eastern
ALICIA MENENDEZ: There is a lot of excitement for the Vice President among older white voters, and there is still an enthusiasm gap when it comes to some of the core support that Democrats are going to need in order for Vice President Biden to win in November, so how do you activate those members of the electorate?
JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ, JOE BIDEN CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: … I think it's important for the Latino community, as an example, it's important that they know who Joe Biden is and that we have an opportunity to need to really share with them that there is a lot of shared values there. You know, he's a Catholic -- he's a man of faith -- he's someone whose leadership is really guided by that. And that's something that really speaks to our families.
He's also someone who was a single father, raised two boys as a single parent. So these are important aspects of who he is personally, and then we'll continue to talk about the policies that he's continuing to put forward and will champion for our communities like investing in HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions to make sure that we are doing what we can to make our work force and to make sure that it's a diverse work force that reflects our country. So these are just some of the policies and some of the work that he's done.
MENENDEZ: There's also been a commitment to a comprehensive immigration proposal with a pathway to citizenship on day one. As you know, immigration groups have been burnt by promises like this before. What will the Vice President actually do to get this done?
(…)
MSNBC
MSNBC Live
Sunday, May 24
4:18 p.m.
ALICIA MENENDEZ: What do you want the takeaway to be from this entire exchange?
ZERLINA MAXWELL, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think this is a completely expected scenario where Joe Biden is making a gaffe, and we all have to scramble to clean it up. This is what we were all worried about. However, there is an opportunity here to take this moment and pause your campaign, meet with community stakeholders and community activists, Black Lives Matter activists, do the round tables and the listening sessions that then you can glean upon and provide policy plans. Charlemagne is correct in that people don't want lip service.
People are not calling for a black woman Vice President simply because it makes for a pretty picture -- what comes with representation is the diversity of lived experiences, and somebody who has lived in the body of a black woman is going to have very specific experiences that then will be the lens through which she creates policy. And I think Joe Biden needs that on the ticket because clearly he has blind spots for being able to converse with younger black millennial generation Z voters, and he is going to need to improve upon that going forward.
MENENDEZ: Emmy, Congresswoman Demings -- who is on Vice President Biden's VP short list -- spoke about the Trump campaign capitalizing on this. Listen.
CONGRESSWOMAN VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): Look, the Vice President shouldn't have said it. He apologized for it. But I really think the goal and the nerve of President Trump to try to use this in his campaign -- he who has since day one done everything in his power and of course supported by his enablers to divide this country particularly along racial lines? Look, let's talk about race.
MENENDEZ: I mean, the point is not for the Trump campaign to win the black vote any more than it is for them to win the Latino vote. It is simply to shave off a margin. What are they doing here?
EMMY RUIZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, I think they're playing politics. They're taking his words -- many times out of context -- for impacting and depressing the vote for the Latino community -- for young voters -- for black voters. I mean, that's part of the reason, for example, they have gone as far as changing so many laws to literally keep our communities from voting and making our voices heard.
(…)
4:38 p.m.
ALICIA MENENDEZ: The Trump administration continues to push for more immigration restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. The administration indefinitely extended border restrictions which authorized the immediate removal of immigrants even seeking asylum to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Migrant children are bearing the brunt of harsher restrictions as reports show unaccompanied migrant children have been deported at quicker rates. And immigrants in family ICE detention centers have reportedly had to choose between releasing their children or staying together in detention indefinitely.
Reports of that process caused House Democratic lawmakers, including Joaquin Castro, to send a letter urging the Trump administration to answer vital questions on that family separation process by May 28. I'd like to welcome Texas Congressman and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Joaquin Castro. Congressman, we've read a lot about this policy called a binary choice where these parents are being asked to make what is an impossible decision of whether they release their child without them or they stay in detention facilities with them where they know that the spread of Covid-19 is a real threat. What are the questions that you want answered from the administration?
CONGRESSMAN JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Yeah, you're right. I mean, all indications are that ICE is forcing this ungodly choice on parents either keeping the kids with them or separating them during this pandemic, and so we want to know whether the federal government following the Flores decision of years ago and acting consistent with law. But this is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's going on.
If you think about it, very few times in American history has the United States closed itself off to the world the way the Trump administration has closed us off at this point. What I mean by that is that right now nobody can naturalize -- in other words, you can't become a citizen, nobody can get a green card, no asylum seekers who are in desperate situations can have their asylum claims processed. And people are being summarily deported -- even asylum seekers -- without any due process of law. And it looks like the administration wants to keep those restrictions in place indefinitely. You can imagine we have a mountain of questions for President Trump and his administration.
MENENDEZ: I would add to what you just laid out that there is now also reporting from the New York Times that there are unaccompanied children at the border who are being sent back to their country of origin without so much as someone telling their parents or family members that they're being sent back such that they can make plans for receiving them. What does it tell you that that and what is happening in detention facilities is happening at the same time in the middle of a pandemic?
