With another 2020 Democrat dropping out, the coronavirus continuing to spread, and middle Tennessee still recovering from a catastrophic tornado, CNN had plenty of topics to fill their airtime on Thursday and, at a most basic level, inform the public.
Unfortunately, Zuckerville decided to spend nearly seven minutes on a North Carolina native and her parents....having different political views. Nothing against the Murphy family (first profiled for The Lily), but it was telling how enthralled CNN Newsroom host Brooke Baldwin was.
“Coming up, I will talk to a mother and daughter duo quite divided over this election. The mom reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016, her daughter is a Democrat hoping to convince her otherwise this November. That conversation much like the ones happening all around the country is next,” Baldwin stated in a tease.
Journalists like Baldwin in Manhattan were used to voting margins like 2016 in which Hillary Clinton won 86.6 percent to Donald Trump’s 9.7 percent, but families and even couples can be split.
Baldwin began with the basics:
Patricia Murphy and her daughter Scarlet are one example of a house divided. Mom reluctantly admits she did vote for Donald Trump back in 2016, and her daughter did not speak to her for days. Patricia Murphy is a registered Republican and is thinking about voting for a Democrat[.]
All the disagreement evaporated (and, with that, the point of the segment) when Patricia Murphy stated that she’s “hoping” Joe Biden wins the Democratic nomination after not having the chance to vote for him in 2016.
Importantly, she later added that she’d be uncomfortable with supporting socialist Bernie Sanders.
Scarlett spoke next on how she felt about her mother voting in 2016 for Trump: “I didn't think [voting for Trump] was something she was capable of, you know, looking back....I think Trump is a really unique candidate and a unique President in terms of just the hateful rhetoric he spews, what he stands for.”
To Scarlett’s credit, she acknowledged that plenty of women in 2016 had concerns and/or long-standing issues with Hillary Clinton and thus went elsewhere.
Baldwin then had Patricia elaborate on why she’s undecided in 2020 (click “expand”):
About the President, I wish he would stay off the tweets. I wish he would present a more presidential figure for America throughout the world. I wish he would represent us better that way. A lot of people feel that the good economy is specifically because of Trump. I'm not sure that's totally the case.
But, you know, what I liked about Trump and what I think is still true is that he was going to bring manufacturing back into America, bring some trade agreements that were more favorable towards America — infrastructure, I mean, so there were some positive reasons to vote for Donald Trump in 2016. It's kind of hard to tell even doing research on the internet or even with the news what all is true and isn't true as far as what has been accomplished and what hasn't.
On the topic of her dad, however, Scarlett maintained she wasn’t attacking him, but you be the judge (click “expand”):
BALDWIN: But for — you tell me, why are you more irked with your mom?
SCARLETT MURPHY: It's hard to say. I don't want to say anything disparaging about my dad on national television.
BALDWIN: Of course not.
SCARLETT MURPHY: He’s a great man — a caring man.
BALDWIN: Of course not. Shout-out to dad.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Shout-out to dad, but he is part of a demographic that almost lives an entirely different world in terms of, like, what they think, what media information is presented to them. He works in the construction industry. He listens to a local AM radio station that's very conservative and he was just getting an entirely different body of information. That's just who he was and how he was going to vote. The things that I think he was maybe part of that demographic that Trump was able to empathize with and kind of capitalize on in the 2016 election whereas I thought of my mom as someone who, you know, is really involved in social justice work and an advocate for so many people Trump disparaged.
Typical millennial. (Full disclosure: This author is too a millennial.)
That went on for a little while longer, and one can check that out below with the transcript. But again, split households are not uncommon. Among married couples, FiveThirtyEight wrote in 2016 that while 70 percent share party registration (Democrat, independent, or Republican), 29 percent were split.
And while the Trump-era has wrought a fracturing of friendships and relationships (arguably stemming from liberals cutting Trump supporters out), normal people can and should recognize that one’s voting patterns shouldn’t determine how we treat each other.
This bizarre use of time was reminiscent of a Baldwin segment from August 27, 2019 (flagged by the Free Beacon) in which Baldwin spent a segment on a seemingly random political strategist named Danny Barefoot announcing his 2020 Democratic endorsement.
To see the relevant transcript from March 5's CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, click “expand.”
CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin
March 5, 2020
3:39 p.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: 2020 Race; Warren Ends Campaign, Not Endorsing Anyone Yet]
BROOKE BALDWIN: Back to politics now, the 2020 Democratic race now down to really Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders after Elizabeth Warren ended her presidential bid today. Coming up, I will talk to a mother and daughter duo quite divided over this election.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: 2020 Race; North Carolina Mother & Daughter Split Over 2020 Race]
The mom reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016, her daughter is a Democrat hoping to convince her otherwise this November. That conversation much like the ones happening all around the country is next.
(....)
3:44 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: House Divided; 2020 Election Creates Rift in American Families Again]
BALDWIN: We know the 2016 presidential election not only divided the country, it has divided communities and families and those feelings are bubbling up again as we head toward November. Patricia Murphy and her daughter Scarlet are one example of a house divided. Mom reluctantly admits she did vote for Donald Trump back in 2016, and her daughter did not speak to her for days. Patricia Murphy is a registered Republican and is thinking about voting for a Democrat, and mom and daughter are both with me now. So ladies, let's get right into this on national television. How about it?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: House Divided; North Carolina Mother & Daughter Split Over 2020 Race]
SCARLETT MURPHY: Oh, my gosh.
BALDWIN: Patricia, I want to begin with you. You are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and scarlet, you're here in New York where you're going to school. So, I first of all am glad we're all speaking again, but Patricia, we are, you know, about eight months from election day and the field has narrowed. What are you thinking about the choices currently available?
PATRICIA MURPHY: Well, I mean, it narrowed again today. I'm actually hoping for one particular candidate to come to the forefront. I — I voted for Trump, as we said, but I would have voted for Joe Biden back in 2016, and I would vote for him this time as well. Bernie, I don't know enough about, and there's a lot of fear around him. I — it’s — I need to know more.
BALDWIN: So hang on, hang on, so you're a registered Republican. Have you ever voted for a Democrat in your life?
PATRICIA MURPHY: Yes.
BALDWIN: Yes, okay, so this wouldn't be a first, but so you're telling me if — if Joe Biden were to become the nominee, you would vote for him over Donald Trump?
PATRICIA MURPHY: Yes, if that is the case, this time around, that's what I would do and that just recently emerged as a choice because I didn't think he was actually gonna to be in the running based on the debate I saw last Tuesday.
BALDWIN: Well, I think even Joe Biden's standing there and talking the other night was basically saying he was a dead man, and now he's alive. I mean, huge, huge, huge wins.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Yeah, yeah. Wow. Right, right, right.
BALDWIN: What do you think — let me talk to your daughter for a second. What do you think hearing your mom who voted for Trump is saying she'd vote Democrat?
SCARLETT MURPHY: You know, it doesn't entirely surprise me. I mean, I think part of my initial emotional reaction when I found out she voted for Trump back in 2016 is that I didn't think that was something she was capable of, you know, looking back. You know, looking at —
BALDWIN: How do you mean?
SCARLETT MURPHY: I mean, I think Trump is a really unique candidate and a unique President in terms of just the hateful rhetoric he spews, what he stands for, what he said about —
BALDWIN: Unique not in a good way.
SCARLETT MURPHY: — unique — yeah — I mean, yes, unique not in a good way.
BALDWIN: YEAH.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Unique as in we've never quite seen anything like him, and it really surprised me th she voted that way.
BALDWIN: And you had words.
SCARLETT MURPHY: And we had words. We had words, and you know, I think part of living to live in a household divided is trying to like empathize with where people are coming from and, while it's not like a belief I share, I do know that I think my mom represents a group of women who had trouble voting for Hillary Clinton due to historical factors and I think with Hillary out of the picture, it's less surprising that she would vote as an alternative to Trump. I don't think necessarily think she's been happy with everything he's done, you know, we can talk more about that.
BALDWIN: Is that the case, Patricia? I mean, since you voted for him — and I read that you were — what was the word, you admitted that you were mortified by Trump but that didn't stop you from voting for him a couple of years ago. How are you feeling now about the President?
PATRICIA MURPHY: About the President, I wish he would stay off the tweets. I wish he would present a more presidential figure for America throughout the world. I wish he would represent us better that way. A lot of people feel that the good economy is specifically because of Trump. I'm not sure that's totally the case. But, you know, what I liked about Trump and what I think is still true is that he was going to bring manufacturing back into America, bring some trade agreements that were more favorable towards America — infrastructure, I mean, so there were some positive reasons to vote for Donald Trump in 2016. It's kind of hard to tell even doing research on the internet or even with the news what all is true and isn't true as far as what has been accomplished and what hasn't.
BALDWIN: Is the door totally closed, Patricia on voting for Donald Trump, or if the economy — depending on who knows what the next couple of months may bring, is there still a possibility that you could vote for Trump?
PATRICIA MURPHY: Possibly, I mean, I would need to know what's going to happen in the Democratic primary. I would need to know if it ended up being Bernie Sanders, you know, a lot of people are afraid of the socialism label. A lot of people say he is a socialist. A lot of people say he isn't, but what's the definition of socialism that we're using? Some of it's scary. Some of it's not, so I think they need to do a better job of marketing what he is, what socialism is. Right now the way I understand it, I would not feel comfortable voting for Bernie Sanders.
BALDWIN: Understand. And then to you Scarlet, it's my understanding your dad also voted for Trump.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Yeah.
BALDWIN: But for — you tell me, why are you more irked with your mom?
SCARLETT MURPHY: It's hard to say. I don't want to say anything disparaging about my dad on national television.
BALDWIN: Of course not.
SCARLETT MURPHY: He’s a great man — a caring man.
BALDWIN: Of course not. Shout-out to dad.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Shout-out to dad, but he is part of a demographic that almost lives an entirely different world in terms of, like, what they think, what media information is presented to them. He works in the construction industry. He listens to a local AM radio station that's very conservative and he was just getting an entirely different body of information. That's just who he was and how he was going to vote. The things that I think he was maybe part of that demographic that Trump was able to empathize with and kind of capitalize on —
BALDWIN: Sure.
SCARLETT MURPHY: — in the 2016 election whereas I thought of my mom as someone who, you know, is really involved in social justice work and an advocate for so many people Trump disparaged.
BALDWIN: So, look into this camera and —
SCARLETT MURPHY: Looking into this camera, yea.
BALDWIN: — look into this camera right here and tell her, final words to mom because I have a feeling you're a Democrat through and through.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Yeah.
BALDWIN: What’s your advice.
SCARLETT MURPHY: I think you should vote for Joe Biden, mom.
PATRICIA MURPHY: You know what? You can lash out with the ones that you love because you don’t have to worry: They’ll always love you no matter what and that’s what we have.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Awww.
BALDWIN: Awww. Spoken like a good, true mom.
SCARLETT MURPHY: Mom.
PATRICIA MURPHY: Mom.
BALDWIN: Patricia and Scarlett. Ladies, thank you so much for that conversation. So helpful for all of us.
