Appearing during MSNBC’s 9 a.m. ET hour on Tuesday, political analyst Steve Schmidt was completely unhinged as he launched into a tirade against President Trump. Outraged over the President’s criticism of NFL players disrespecting the National Anthem, Schmidt lashed out with this hysterical declaration: “And what Donald Trump is doing here is as terrible a thing, and maybe the most terrible thing, that has ever been done to this country by a President of the United States. Despicable doesn’t begin to describe it.”
Earlier in the discussion, the former McCain campaign manager couldn’t muster that much fury over the anti-American demonstrations by professional athletes as he ranted against Trump: “And to see him try to hijack this symbol, to wrap himself in it for the purposes premeditatedly, purposely of dividing the country is the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in my lifetime, in my 47 years.”
Rather than challenge Schmidt’s hyberbolic assertions or try to turn down the nasty tone of the conversation, anchor Stephanie Ruhle decided to amp it up instead: “But it’s not a surprise....it reminds us of the hate that we saw, how the President came to be on the campaign trail.”
Schmidt recalled seeing an NFL player being asked about Trump in a recent TV interview and “got a little bit jammed up when the reporter asked him a question, ‘Is he a racist?’” The MSNBC contributor continued: “And he didn’t want to say it. So let me say it, I want to help him out. He’s a racist, okay?”
Schmidt justified the accusation by imagining that the President had almost uttered a racial slur at a Friday rally:
You look at that speech in Alabama to an all-white crowd, right? We need to get real about this in this country. The President of the United States goes down there, and he talks about “us” and “those people.” He came proverbially as close as you can possibly come to shouting at a rally the n-word. That’s what he did down there. I know it. You know it. Harold knows it. We all know it.
Moments later, Ruhle feared: “Then why is America – are we a racist nation? Why is America allowing the President to reframe this nonsense?”
Schmidt’s fellow panelist Harold Ford Jr. thought Ruhle was on the right track: “...your question is a legitimate one....there’s something to your question. I don’t know the answer, but there’s something to it.”
The biased discussion was brought to viewers by LegalZoom and Raymond James Financial.
Here are excerpts of the September 26 segment:
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9:25 AM ET
RUHLE: I’ve got to talk about this. The President has made this about patriotism. You’re with the flag or you’re not. But that is not at all what’s at stake here.
HAROLD FORD JR.: I’ll defer to you.
RUHLE: Fine, you said it last night on Twitter. You said he’s hijacking our sacred symbol.
SCHMIDT: I – it hurts my heart in a way that I don’t know that I have the words for. I choose to stand for our national symbol in silent reverence when it comes by. It hurts – it pains me to see anyone on their knee, to have anyone sit. But the greatest affront to that flag is what Donald Trump is doing. That flag stands for values that are so powerful and so strong that even the desecration of the flag, even burning it, those values are so powerful that they transcend that. Freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of expression, these core American values that he attacks constantly, that he undermines. And to see him try to hijack this symbol, to wrap himself in it for the purposes premeditatedly, purposely of dividing the country is the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in my lifetime, in my 47 years.
So I disagree with Colin Kaepernick’s method, but I will defend to my dying breath his right to do it. Because that is why we are a great country. You go to Arlington National Cemetery, and you walk amidst those tombstones of the young men who have given, in Lincoln’s words, the last full measure of devotion to this country, that’s what they died for. That freedom of speech, of expression.
And what Donald Trump is doing here is as terrible a thing, and maybe the most terrible thing, that has ever been done to this country by a President of the United States. Despicable doesn’t begin to describe it.
RUHLE: And completely unnecessary. If there are rules that need to be added to pro-football, let’s talk about tackling super hard, let’s talk about CTE. Harold, what do you think is motivating the President? Because this “stand up for patriotism” is sort of like President Trump testing out new lines on the campaign trail, “lock her up,” “build the wall.” But what he’s doing isn’t just attacking these players, look what he’s doing dividing team owners, companies. You’ve got people out there saying to brands, “Where do you stand? Do I want to buy your products?” Why would the President do that to his own country?
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9:30 AM ET
RUHLE: But it’s not a surprise. As you said, it reminds us of the hate that we saw, how the President came to be on the campaign trail. That being the case, how does GOP leadership stand with him?
SCHMIDT: I mean, look, I – they stand with him at this point because they’re cowards. And I don’t know what else to say as they watch the degradations to our flag, to our system, to the Constitution. Those that won’t stand up and fight back, I don’t have a word to describe my contempt for them.
And I want to be clear about something. Saw a handsome young man on TV, an NFL player, he got a little bit jammed up when the reporter asked him a question, “Is he a racist?” And he didn’t want to say it. So let me say it, I want to help him out. He’s a racist, okay?
You look at that speech in Alabama to an all-white crowd, right? We need to get real about this in this country. The President of the United States goes down there, and he talks about “us” and “those people.” He came proverbially as close as you can possibly come to shouting at a rally the n-word. That’s what he did down there. I know it. You know it. Harold knows it. We all know it.
And for the Republican Party, and its leaders, but for every decent American, we’re coming up on the line where enough’s enough with this. What he’s doing to the country is tragic. The resilience of the country and the eloquence of Lebron James, God bless him.
RUHLE: He called the President a “bum.”
SCHMIDT: It’s not – well, he did, but he also said a lot of other things. And What Lebron’s got right about this is this – it’s not his flag. It’s my flag, it’s our flag. That flag stands for the soldier and for the protester. We all live under its magnificence. It is the most powerful symbol of the greatest ideals that have ever been put to paper by the mind of man in all of human history. We’re not a perfect people, we’re not a perfect country, but our ideals are as near to perfect as can be. And to watch the assault on them every day from this president, what it will do in time, is it will rally the American people, will rally a generation. And I don’t care, Republicans, Democrats, independents, left-handed vegetarians, people will rally to the flag and to the ideals of this country over time.
RUHLE: Then why is America – are we a racist nation? Why is America allowing the President to reframe this nonsense as are you –
SCHMIDT: 35% approval on his best day. We need to stop pretending that he represents a majority of the American people, he does not. He never has. He lost the popular vote. He won by 78,000 votes across three states with an inside straight. This does not represent the majority of the American people. It doesn’t.
FORD: There is a decency – your question is a legitimate one and I think – I agree with Steve’s last point, but there’s something that happened. I would not have thought eight years ago, that after Obama was elected and re-elected, that this is where we would be as we talk about issues of culture and race and justice and injustice. So there’s something to your question. I don’t know the answer, but there’s something to it.
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