Awww, hopefully everyone at MSNBC leaves tonight with a comfort animal of their choice. In the first few minutes after the first 2020 Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday, panelists were livid that there wasn’t enough Trump bashing to the point that they wondered whether the candidates consciously decided that the President became a real-life Voldemort who’s name “will not be mentioned.”
Huh. Go figure. Discussing far-left, kooky policies didn’t satisfy the liberals onset of MSNBC. How disappointing!
Deadline: White House host and failed McCain/Palin campaign aide Nicolle Wallace went first, gushing about the supposed brilliance of the field having “strung together an incredible story about what is possible if Donald Trump isn't re-elected” (click “expand”):
And I think that this field showed themselves — when they broke into Spanish, when they debated the intricacies of policy, when they kept it on what they were for and didn't end up down a rabbit hole of what they were against. When Jay Inslee had that sharp answer with the greatest threat to the country and the world was and came out with Donald Trump. I mean, together as a field, they strung together an incredible story about what is possible if Donald Trump isn't re-elected to a second term and really, it's up to Democrats in terms of who people are hungering for the most.
Former Democratic Senator-turned-MSNBC analyst Claire McCaskill then pivoted to lament how she “was surprised how little there was a discussion of the mess in the White House right now.”
McCaskill doubled down, ruling that she “was shocked that more candidates didn't tie their policies into the ineptitude, the chaos, the horrible things this President has done and it really was a little surprising to me because I think most Democrats, while they want to hear policy and they want to get to know these candidates, they also want to be reassured that we are united, that those candidates are united in terms of Donald Trump.”
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson agreed that “the absence of Trump in this discussion actually surprised me a lot” and, after Lyin’ Brian Williams interjected to state that it’s “almost” like “he who will not be mentioned,” Robinson made the Harry Potter comparison: “It was like Lord Voldemort. You know, you couldn't say his name whereas for a lot of people in the country that is the main issue.”
A few minutes later, Last Word host Lawrence O’Donnell provided the lone dissent, noting that “most if not all of those candidates would be running for president tonight if someone else was the Republican president.”
O’Donnell then went onto explain that not talking about Trump was perfectly fine since Trump won’t be President forever (click “expand”):
But it does seem like there was some kind of conscious decision made to basically try to — to — to advance their candidacies as much a they could without the use of the word “Trump.” And here's why that might be a kind of good experience for Democratic primary voters. They actually got a couple hours of concentrating on what government and the White House and the presidency would sound like after Trump and after Trump they will not be talking about Donald Trump.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s post-debate coverage on June 26, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Democratic Debate: Post-Debate Analysis
June 26, 2019
11:01 p.m. EasternNICOLLE WALLACE: And I think that this field showed themselves — when they broke into Spanish, when they debated the intricacies of policy, when they kept it on what they were for and didn't end up down a rabbit hole of what they were against. When Jay Inslee had that sharp answer with the greatest threat to the country and the world was and came out with Donald Trump. I mean, together as a field, they strung together an incredible story about what is possible if Donald Trump isn't re-elected to a second term and really, it's up to Democrats in terms of who people are hungering for the most. People like Claire probably know the answer to that better than
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Yeah Senator, as someone who's been in the arena of the U.S. Senate I noticed the copious notes you were taking.
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: Yeah. I think overall I was surprised how little there was a discussion of the mess in the White House right now. I was shocked that more candidates didn't tie their policies into the ineptitude, the chaos, the horrible things this president has done and it really was a little surprising to me because I think most Democrats, while they want to hear policy and they want to get to know these candidates, they also want to be reassured that we are united, that those candidates are united in terms of Donald Trump. So that surprised me a little. I thought the folks on the end did their best to elbow in to every discussion they could. I found it mildly irritating at times.
WALLACE: Yeah.
MCCASKILL: Maybe it's just de Blasio's mildly irritating to me. I'm not sure.
WALLACE: Yeah.
MCCASKILL: Or maybe even more than mildly irritating to me.
EUGENE ROBINSON: You seem pretty irritated.
WALLACE: I had the same reaction. I think that might break down along genderlines. He sounded to me like sort of an obnoxious guy at a restaurant or a bar talking really loudly on his cell phone, like everyone wants to hear what he's saying, like he — I wanted to hear other people's answers and he kept cutting in.
ROBINSON: Clearly his tactic just to — you know, he was the first to butt in and this and that. I mean, the absence of Trump in this discussion actually surprised me a lot. I thought —
WILLIAMS: Almost he who will not be mentioned.
ROBINSON: Exactly. It was like Lord Voldemort. You know, you couldn't say his name whereas for a lot of people in the country that is the main issue.
(....)
11:05 p.m. Eastern
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: One of the things that's — that — that drives the observation that they didn't talk about Donald Trump very much is that most if not all of those candidates would be running for president tonight if someone else was the Republican president. If we had a Republican President Bush and so these are actual — actually positive candidacies that would be running no matter who was in the White House, no matter what Republican was in the White House. But it does seem like there was some kind of conscious decision made to basically try to — to — to advance their candidacies as much a they could without the use of the word "Trump." And here's why that might be a kind of good experience for Democratic primary voters. They actually got a couple hours of concentrating on what government and the White House and the presidency would sound like after Trump and after Trump they will not be talking about Donald Trump.
