During the political coverage on NBC’s Sunday Today, host Willie Geist and Political Director Chuck Todd lamented about how far America’s political discourse sunk in the wake of the week’s condolence controversy. According to their telling, all of the blame rested on President Trump and his White House. But in reality, their network’s sprint to label General John Kelly, a gold star father, a racist for criticizing Congresswoman Frederica Wilson was also to blame.
“Not a lot of people bathe themselves in glory beyond those four brave men and their families this week. What did we witness-- what are we continuing to witness this morning,” Geist asked his guest. The comment was something Geist could arguably point at to suggest he was including his network but it really didn’t do any justice.
Todd responded with an air of disgust, saying: “I think we're witnessing the continued destruction and erosion of our political discourse.” “I don't think it was a coincidence, Willie, that on Thursday former presidents Bush and Obama both came out to indict President Trump's brand of civil discourse essentially,” he touted by adding.
In speaking for the former presidents, he bemoaned how they were forced to say something. “I think they were responding to the latest like: “Oh, now we're -- now we've polarized condolences?” There is no bottom to how low our dehumanization of politics and civility can go, and I think it's -- look, this was a shameful week in American politics,” he said in a huff.
But NBC and the media owned a significant portion of the blame for helping to create the “shameful week.” Not long after White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly came out and defended the President by noting that he coached Trump on what to say, MSNBC personalities rushed to begin calling the gold star father a racist.
“He showed no empathy at all for her,” whined Lawrence O’Donnell on Thursday regarding Kelly’s comments about Wilson. “But he took time, a lot of extra time, to call a black woman who he doesn't know and he doesn't like an empty barrel.”
“You know what wasn't sacred when he was a kid growing up where he was growing up? Black women or black people. And, oh, by the way, women were not sacred either. They were not honored,” O’Donnell continued to smear. At one point, he condemned Kelly’s Catholic upbringing because other people had beat their wives and suggested it had rubbed off on him. And yet he had the nerve to claim Kelly was incoherent.
Their MSNBC colleague Joy Reid took to Twitter to sing O’Donnell’s praises while degrading Kelly herself. “Wow. @Lawrence scorched General Kelly tonight, including calling out his segregated Boston upbringing and dehumanization of a black woman,” she wrote. “Kelly grew up in segregated Boston, in an Irish Catholic neighborhood where women were bullied, not honored, and blacks scorned & rejected.”
If Geist and Todd really cared about the polarization of condolences, then they should take a look at Benghazi were Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Obama administration blamed a YouTube video and didn’t care what difference it made.
One really had to wonder, were Geist and Todd honored to be associated with colleagues like O’Donnell and Reid?
Transcript below:
NBC
Sunday Today
October 22, 2017
8:08:01 AM Eastern(…)
WILLIE GEIST: Myesha Johnson, his widow, just put her husband into the ground and we're back into this political fight from the White House going after Congresswoman Frederica Wilson for her role in this phone call controversy. Not a lot of people bathe themselves in glory beyond those four brave men and their families this week. What did we witness-- what are we continuing to witness this morning?
CHUCK TODD: I think we're witnessing the continued destruction and erosion of our political discourse. I don't think it was a coincidence, Willie, that on Thursday former presidents Bush and Obama both came out to indict President Trump's brand of civil discourse essentially. I mean, that's probably as good of a way to describe what they did. Yes, they both didn't mention him by name and so the white house is taking that -- taking some comfort in that.
But you throw all that together and I don't think it's a coincidence. I think they were responding to the latest like: “Oh, now we're -- now we've polarized condolences?” There is no bottom to how low our dehumanization of politics and civility can go, and I think it's -- look, this was a shameful week in American politics.
GEIST: I agree.
TODD: There's no other way to put it.
GEIST: I totally agree. You also had earlier in the week, John McCain and Joe Biden together, you can throw those speeches in as well as sort of, I guess the old guard of American politics trying to pull back what they believe they're seeing lost right now and to reaffirm what America is supposed to stand for.
(…)
