On the July 21 edition of Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski went off on Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after the Senate Majority Leader claimed using the gender card won't be sufficient for Hillary Clinton to win in 2016. McConnell stated: "You may recall my election last year. The gender card alone is not enough. I beat my opponent with women in my race because the gender card alone is not enough." The Morning Joe co-host was appalled that McConnell used the term “gender card” and explained: “[T]his is now sexist. It's just unfortunate. It's like those words you can't say, but some people can say.”
Brzezinski also compared the situation to Barack Obama’s election in 2008: “I mean, it's the same thing as when President Obama was running for president, there were people who could be very excited about the historic nature of it. Republicans can't. They couldn't figure out how to get around that. And whenever they did, they looked like racists.”
Joe Scarborough contested Mika’s point. He argued that she has been “saying that women are very excited to vote for her because they want a woman to be president.” He added: “You say that so I just don't know how that's a whole lot different from what Mitch McConnell said.”
Scarborough hit Brzezinski again: “Is it sexist for you to say it's going to be hard to beat Hillary Clinton because everybody is excited about the fact she's a woman which is, in fact, what you’ve said? That’s not sexist.” Brzezinski objected, claiming all she’s said is that “people are excited about the historic nature of her candidacy, especially a lot of women.”
Responding to Brzezinski, Scarborough made his own comparison to Barack Obama’s election, noting its historic nature and its similarities to Clinton’s candidacy:
I'm not knocking anything she's saying, but let's just stop pretending that Barack Obama didn't get a huge push in 2008 because he was a historic candidate. And let's not pretend that Hillary Clinton is not going to get a huge push because she's going to be a historic candidate. So, before we start calling Mitch McConnell sexist –
To conclude the segment, Brzezinski asserted that “there’s not one planet on which it’s okay” to play the gender card and actually have it work.
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
July 20, 2015MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joe, what's behind – was there a point that – I'm not going to ask you to say this. I just – there's no valid point to what he said.
NICK CONFESSORE: I'm not even sure that the secretary would disagree with him, actually. I mean, her campaign is not solely built around her gender. And I think they've taken pains to have this huge platform, all these other issues, right? It's kind of silly I think.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: It’s um, it just never works. Just don’t say those two words, Willie, right? (laughs)
Nobody wants to touch it. And you’re all right.
WILLIE GEIST: No, I think it's silly on its face, but I also don’t think it’s – I don’t think he's saying something that's not out there among people, that she's just run to make history. That’s something you hear people say. And I don't think that's falling on deaf ears. He's connecting with someone when he says that.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. But also, Mika, I've seen you sitting in that chair a thousand times saying that women are very excited to vote for her because they want a woman to be president.
BRZEZINSKI: That's great.
SCARBOROUGH: You said I go around and there are so many women that are – young girls and older women, and they're so excited to vote for her because she's a woman.
BRZEZINSKI: Yep.
SCARBOROUGH: You say that so I just don't know how that's a whole lot different from what Mitch McConnell said.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh, I'll tell you what's different. Or if I could. I mean, it's the same thing as when President Obama was running for president, there were people who could be very excited about the historic nature of it. Republicans can't. They couldn't figure out how to get around that. And whenever they did, they looked like racists. And so, this is now sexist. It's just unfortunate. It's like those words you can't say, but some people can say.
SCARBOROUGH: Is it sexist for you to say it's going to be hard to beat Hillary Clinton because everybody is excited about the fact she's a woman which is, in fact, what you’ve said? That’s not sexist.
BRZEZINSKI: No, that’s not what I’ve said. That's absolutely not what I've said. I’ve said that people are excited about the historic nature of her candidacy, especially a lot of women. But I think she has got a massive backing and her husband and the Clinton machine, that's what I've said is going to win. I don't even know if I think it's fair, but that's what I think is going to win, not the fact she's a woman.
SCARBOROUGH: A lot of people are very excited. I mean, a lot of people are excited, rightly. I mean, a lot of women in my family [are] very excited about the fact that she's a woman. I mean, they're not going oh, I'm really excited to go vote for Hillary Clinton because of the great work she did when she was New York's, you know, junior senator.
BRZEZINSKI: Joe.
SCARBOROUGH: I'm not knocking anything she's saying, but let's just stop pretending that Barack Obama didn't get a huge push in 2008 because he was a historic candidate. And let's not pretend that Hillary Clinton is not going to get a huge push because she's going to be a historic candidate. So, before we start calling Mitch McConnell sexist –
BRZEZINSKI: I’m not! One word answer if you might, because I have to go to Halperin. On what planet would you say against a female opponent the gender card shouldn’t be played, can’t be played? Not one. Okay, that’s all I’m saying. It’s just – there’s not one planet on which that’s okay to say and it’s gonna work for him.
