On Monday, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle hyped: “President Trump is being slammed for his use of Twitter this weekend, especially for one tweet some claim promotes violence against women.” After reciting tweets from liberals blasting the President, Ruhle turned to top Hillary Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri to further denounce the mocking social media post.
Claiming that she didn’t want to be an “alarmist” on the topic, Ruhle admitted that the press often overreact to Trump’s tweets: “People love to say the media sets their hair on fire over these things, it’s just a joke, no big deal.” However, she still breathlessly urged Palmieri to “talk through that tweet and what it means.”
Predictably, the Clinton loyalist followed Ruhle’s lead in condemning the video as an incitement of violence: “I thought it was both appalling and it was very revealing about his state of mind. And it’s appalling because it is...promoting violence against women from the President of the United States.”
Palmieri had traumatic flashbacks to the 2016 presidential race:
...it just brought me back to the moments you would see on the campaign trail of him and his supporters chanting,”Lock her up.” And they’re scenes that can fill you with revulsion....to see crowds like that cheering against a woman and to see the President of the United States to retweet something that would – that is making – not just making light of, but suggesting that it’s a positive thing to be – to hurt, to physically harm a woman.
“The only hope I can take from this is if you see misogyny continues and persists in American politics, and at least it’s on a big enough stage that we’re all able to see it and call it out,” she implored.
The tweet in question featured an edited video of Trump hitting a golf ball and the ball appearing to hit Clinton as she tripped while boarding a plane.
Ruhle then bizarrely attempted to lump Trump in with incarcerated pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli:
Does it feel like it’s getting worse? Because it’s not just President Trump who’s promoting some kind of physical force against Clinton. Martin Shkreli....he was put in jail last week for posting on social media an offer of five grand to anyone who would grab some of Clinton's hair for him....And things like that have been happening to Hillary Clinton her whole life. She could say she’s getting use to it, but are you concerned that things are actually going backwards, they’re getting worse?
Palmieri lamented: “...the way I see it is all of Hillary's life, for sure, she has suffered indignities like this.” Indignities like her husband having an affair with a White House intern for instance. “And she’s just been this lightning rod her whole adult life, and I think it’s because she’s always – whatever role she’s been in, from when she was a young woman to First Lady to a presidential candidate – she’s challenged the way we thought about women, and that vexes people,” the former aide bitterly added.
Palmieri proclaimed: “But then you do have these moments of blatant, gross misogyny that, you know, at the hands of the President of the United States. It just couldn’t be more distressing....actually promoting violence against a women.”
Ruhle pleaded: “Ivanka Trump, you are looking to be an icon who supports, who champions women. Here’s an opportunity for you, stand up and stop this.”
The biased segment was brought to viewers by GEICO, Depend, and Humana.
Here is a full transcript of the September 18 exchange:
11:17 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: President Trump is being slammed for his use of Twitter this weekend, especially for one tweet some claim promotes violence against women. Take a look at this. President Trump retweeted this edited video yesterday that appears to show him hitting a golf ball and knocking over Hillary Clinton. That second clip is Clinton back in 2011 tripping while boarding an airplane. Twitter responded with Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman writing, “Retweeting this kind of misogynistic video might be below the standards of even this president.” Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, tweeted, quote, “So who’s in charge at Pennsylvania Avenue Jr. High?”
Trump also retweeted this image yesterday of a train wearing a trump hat, plowing down the tracks. It is very similar to this retweet from the President in August of a train plowing into a CNN journalist. It just came days after activist Heather Heyer was hit and killed by a car, allegedly driven by a white nationalist in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Trump later deleted that tweet.
And do not forget this video from July the President retweeted, the edited clip shows Trump taking down and pummeling someone with the CNN logo superimposed over his head.
We will talk all about this. Joining me now is Jennifer Palmieri, the former Communications Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign and former White House Communications Director under President Obama. Jennifer, I don’t want to be an alarmist here, right? People love to say the media sets their hair on fire over these things, it’s just a joke, no big deal. For me, this one isn’t a big deal [sic]. And everyone has been saying in the last two weeks, the President has pivoted, he’s changed, he’s cutting deals with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. But talk through that tweet and what it means.
JENNIFER PALMIERI: Yeah, I thought it was both appalling and it was very revealing about his state of mind. And it’s appalling because it is, it’s making – let alone being unable to let go of the election – but promoting – to promote violent – you know, that is promoting violence against women from the President of the United States.
And for me, it – you know, it just brought me back to the moments you would see on the campaign trail of him and his supporters chanting,”Lock her up.” And they’re scenes that can fill you with revulsion. I think that people, no matter – you know, no matter who you voted for, to see that kind of – to see crowds like that cheering against a woman and to see the President of the United States to retweet something that would – that is making – not just making light of, but suggesting that it’s a positive thing to be – to hurt, to physically harm a woman.
The only hope I can take from this is if you see misogyny continues and persists in American politics, and at least it’s on a big enough stage that we’re all able to see it and call it out.
RUHLE: Does it feel like it’s getting worse? Because it’s not just President Trump who’s promoting some kind of physical force against Clinton. Martin Shkreli, known – I’m not even going to call him the Pharma Bro, he’s not good enough to be called a “bro” – he was put in jail last week for posting on social media an offer of five grand to anyone who would grab some of Clinton's hair for him during his book tour [sic]. And things like that have been happening to Hillary Clinton her whole life. She could say she’s getting use to it, but are you concerned that things are actually going backwards, they’re getting worse?
PALMIERI: I am – what I – you know, I don't want to believe that, right?
RUHLE: I don’t want to believe it.
PALMIERI: We want to believe that there’s something – I want to believe that we are on the cusp of having a break through on – when it comes to our attitudes toward women leaders in politics. And so, the way I see it is all of Hillary's life, for sure, she has suffered indignities like this.
You know, even during the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign. Things like, you know, “You’re likable enough” or, you know, commenting on her clothes or – from her fellow Democrats. But now what we see is something much uglier. And an actual physical harm about her – against her. And the thing about the hair follicle last week from our friend Martin was really, really disturbing. That suggests you get very close to her and rip her – rip something from her head. But –
RUHLE: Madame Palmieri, I’m going to qualify, he is not your friend, not my friend. He wishes he could be in our company.
PALMIERI: True. But I think – I still believe that it is coming – that this is coming to a head and that what we are – it is very disturbing and it’s actually physical, what these – what people are suggesting happen to her. But because it’s happening on such a big stage, we’re able to call it out and say, “This is not rational.” You can disagree wit Hillary Clinton on policy, you can think she makes mistakes, but the hatred that surrounds her is irrational.
And I think that is one of the things that’s positive about her writing this book, is that we are able to step back and – you know, outside of the heat of the campaign, without any sort of electoral stakes at hand – and consider why that is. And she’s just been this lightning rod her whole adult life, and I think it’s because she’s always – whatever role she’s been in, from when she was a young woman to First Lady to a presidential candidate – she’s challenged the way we thought women, and that vexes people.
And it doesn’t mean everybody’s sexist or everyone’s a misogynist, we’re just not sure what to make of her because there’s no role model, there’s no – there’s nothing we can refer back to. And so, people are suspicious about her. Well, why is that? Why is she doing this? Why does she want this job? And you know, that’s something we all have to wrestle with. And again, I don’t think that it means everybody’s a sexist.
But then you do have these moments of blatant, gross misogyny that, you know, at the hands of the President of the United States. It just couldn’t be more distressing. But I think, you know, women and Americans of all gender, both genders, that are concerned about this, look at this moment as something to learn from and to call out. Not just as beneath the dignity of the President of the United States, but as actually promoting violence against a women.
RUHLE: It’s beneath the dignity of an adult. Jennifer, thank you so much.
PALMIERI: Yes, thanks for having me, Stephanie.
RUHLE: Ivanka Trump, you are looking to be an icon who supports, who champions women. Here’s an opportunity for you, stand up and stop this.
