Former GOP operative turned MSNBC Republican Nicolle Wallace fawned over Senator Elizabeth Warren after the latest Democratic debate on Tuesday. She wondered if the very smart and “deep” Warren would be harmed by Donald Trump’s “poo poo head” attacks in a general election.
Wallace praised liberal MSNBC host Chris Hayes as he wrapped up his chat with the Democrat: “Senator, the smart part of this interview is over.” She then contrasted the brilliant Warren to the stupidity of the coming Republican campaign:
Senator Warren, you are probably the deepest of all of the Democratic candidates in terms of policy and specificity and I see people wait online hours and hours, four hours in New York to talk to you about them. Do you worry that in a general election you'll end up running against someone like Donald Trump whose slogan and strategy amounts to - you know - “You're a poo-poo head. No, you’re a poo-poo head.” Do you worry that the dumbing down of a general election against Donald Trump may deprive you of your greatest strength?
Wallace then offered this bizarre question: “The former political operative in me wants to know: You don't need Republicans to vote for you to win the primary, certainly and probably not the general. But do you want them?”
Just like the Daily Show, co-host Brian Williams wondered if Warren is the new frontrunner: “But the question is did it make you feel like the front-runner tonight?”
A partial transcript is below:
MSNBC post debate coverage
10/16/19
12:44
NICOLLE WALLACE: The former political operative in me wants to know: You don't need Republicans to vote for you to win the primary, certainly and probably not the general. But do you want them?
ELIZABETH WARREN: Of course I do. I was born and raised in Oklahoma. I have three older brothers who all served in the military. Two of them are still Republicans. And by golly, I want their votes.
WALLACE: Do you think it freaks any Republicans out that not only is Medicare for all in Republican world feel like taking something we might like but that you didn't really seem to give a straight answer on it? Does it worry you at all for a general election should you be the nominee?
...
WALLACE: Senator, the smart part of this interview is over. Senator Warren, you are probably the deepest of all of the Democratic candidates in terms of policy and specificity and I see people wait online hours and hours, four hours in New York to talk to you about them. Do you worry that in a general election you'll end up running against someone like Donald Trump whose slogan and strategy amounts to - you know - “You're a poo-poo head. No, you’re a poo-poo head.” Do you worry that the dumbing down of a general election against Donald Trump may deprive you of your greatest strength?
...
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Hey, senator, one last question, then we'll let you go. And it has to do with our lead story tonight. We had to kind of come up with what the lead story was. And I see a lot of our colleagues in print journalism concur, and the lead story was Elizabeth Warren for the first time took incoming fire from just about everybody at a Democratic debate. First of all, I know you must have been ready for it. But the question is did it make you feel like the front-runner tonight? And it's never fun after all, is it?
