On Saturday afternoon's Alex Witt Reports on MSNBC, fill-in host Katy Tur was joined by new MSNBC contributor Charles Blow to spend a segment bemoaning the new law in Florida that bars the teaching of transgender issues to young children in schools.
Blow called the law a "terror tactic" and accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of making "venom and vitriol" into policy. Tur opened the segment by adopting the preferred liberal phraseology of calling the move the "don't say gay" bill. The MSNBC host then began by fretting: "Now, a big part of the reason this is so controversial is the language in the bill is pretty broad. And although it does say between kindergarten and third grade, Charles, there is reason to suspect that it could be used up and down grades as high as seniors in high school."
Blow -- who is also a columnist for the New York Times and used to be a CNN contributor -- tied in expectations that DeSantis will run for the Republican nomination for President:
And what DeSantis is doing essentially is making himself into Trump 2.0. He is taking all of the venom and the vitriol and turning it into policy, which is something Trump could not do. Trump could do it on an executive level. He could basically have it be the policy of the administration, but it wasn't law. DeSantis is making law of the Trump aesthetic.
Tur further worried about the issue as she followed up: "I want to ask you, I mean, this is obviously -- it's still up in the air -- but I'm curious, just some basics about this law. I mean, if a kid has two dads or two moms and the kid is in third grade -- is in 10th grade -- would they be allowed to talk about that?"
The Times columnist argued that the law might result in teachers being afraid to discuss LGBT issues at all out of fear of lawsuits, and "the way the bill has been written is so broad, and I think that is exemplary of a lot of the bills that are being written now -- whether they be about, you know, restricting a right to vote or restricting Critical Race Theory in class. They are all written so broadly that it makes -- it becomes a terror tactic in the sense that no one knows if they are, in fact, violating the law."
During his time at CNN, Blow was known for over the top outbursts in his interactions with fellow guests like Kayleigh McEnany, Paris Dennard, Jeff Roorda, and Jack Kingston.
It was also not mentioned that both Tur and Blow have a close connection to LGBT issues since Blow is bisexual and Tur's father is transgender.
This segment was sponsored in part by Wayfare and Hyundai. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC's Alex Witt Reports
April 2, 2022
12:39 p.m. Eastern
KATY TUR: New fallout in the feud between the governor of Florida and Disney. Governor DeSantis signaling that he would now support stripping the company of its special status that allows it to operate as part of an independent government around Orlando Theme Park. It comes after Disney criticized DeSantis for signing a bill into law this week banning schools from teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity, known as the "don't say gay" bill.
Joining me now is Charlea Blow, columnist for the New York Times and MSNBC political analyst. Now, a big part of the reason this is so controversial is the language in the bill is pretty broad. And although it does say between kindergarten and third grade, Charles, there is reason to suspect that it could be used up and down grades as high as seniors in high school.
(...)
CHARLES BLOW, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: And what DeSantis is doing essentially is making himself into Trump 2.0. He is taking all of the venom and the vitriol and turning it into policy, which is something Trump could not do. Trump could do it on an executive level. He could basically have it be the policy of the administration, but it wasn't law. DeSantis is making law of the Trump aesthetic.
TUR: I want to ask you, I mean, this is obviously -- it's still up in the air -- but I'm curious, just some basics about this law. I mean, if a kid has two dads or two moms and the kid is in third grade -- is in 10th grade -- would they be allowed to talk about that?
BLOW: That is still unclear to me. I have also asked activists about this myself, and it was not clear to me in the answers that they gave whether -- to what degree is talking simply about my family and the way that I personally feel off limits in these classrooms. And I think that is the problem is that the way the bill has been written is so broad, and I think that is exemplary of a lot of the bills that are being written now -- whether they be about, you know, restricting a right to vote or restricting Critical Race Theory in class. They are all written so broadly that it makes -- it becomes a terror tactic in the sense that no one knows if they are, in fact, violating the law. So they restrict what they do because they don't know precisely where the line is and whether or not they will cross it.
TUR: I also wonder if the teacher who's, you know, in a same-sex marriage -- it's fine to talk about a same-sex marriage -- or an opposite-sex marriage, excuse me -- I could talk to you about my husband -- but if I was married to a woman, would I not be able to talk to the kids about my wife? Would I not be able to bring her to school thence? I mean, there are a lot of questions, and it does raise an issue of inequality. I know that there are civil rights groups that are suing over this. I do want to ask you, though, about the turn in the Republican party -- and with DeSantis in particular -- but broadly in the Republican party as well -- towards morality politics.
