MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell gushed over the happy, liberal Hollywood voters who were excited to spend hours in line on Super Tuesday. Meanwhile, on sister network NBC, the 80-year-old Tom Brokaw made a cameo appearance in which he chided the Republican Party as a “dwindling tribe” of voters.
O’Donnell, who produced the TV show West Wing (among others), painted a picture of film industry pros practically holding hands with regular voters: “My phone is filled with texts from people, friends of mine in those lines. I have one from a Hollywood polling place where the casting director is in a conversation with a cinematographer and a math teacher and someone who is an undivided voter an hour ago in that line, and she says they just realized, and only just realized, that they'd been in the line for two hours.”
Showcasing the heroics of those in the entertainment industry, O’Donnell continued, “I've got one from a very affluent community in the Pacific Palisades, a director who has been in line for two hours. He's not complaining.”
After glossing over the voting problems in California, O’Donnell hyped the very liberal California turnout as a rejection of Trump:
It is the Trump turnout. This is a turnout driven by a nationwide fear of Donald Trump remaining in office after the next election. These people are afraid of another four years of Donald Trump. They are afraid of what Donald Trump has done. That's who these voters are. This is a Donald trump-generated turnout tonight.
On NBC, a few hours earlier, Brokaw appeared. In a tribute to the American voter, the former Nightly News anchor derided the GOP as a “dwindling tribe.”
You can go into small towns, however often you’ve been there in the past, and they want you to know that they believe in the American system and they're paying attention to it. Now, some of them are better at taking advantage of all of it than others are. Republicans have really figured out how to unify themselves. They are a dwindling tribe and they know that. But the fact is that they stay inside their — inside their lines. And that’s where they’re going to say this time.
A partial transcript is below. Click "expand" to read more.
NBC live coverage
3/3/20209:48
LESTER HOLT: But Democratic voters say they want the person they believe can beat Donald Trump. We've seen that shifting, even as the — since Iowa. Pete Buttigieg was the —
TOM BROKAW: Well, I do think that's true. As I said, I began in '68 and I've been at every convention and every election year since then. What is always reassuring to me as I go around the country is people take citizenship seriously. The fact is, you can go into small towns, however often you’ve been there in the past and they want you to know that they believe in the American system and they're paying attention to it. Now, some of them are better at taking advantage of all of it than others are. Republicans have really figured out how to unify themselves. They are a dwindling tribe and they know that. But the fact is that they stay inside their — inside their lines. And that’s where they’re going to say this time.
...
9:50
BROKAW: Joe's been around a long time. We never quite know what he's going to do or say next. In this time, I think all of the experience he's had has paid off for him. And people can look at his long, long term in office, both as vice president and senator and say, “Look, there are some issues along the way. But the fact is the guy’s been there and he’s done that.” That’s not an endorsement of Biden. He still has to earn his way. But he’s in a position to do that.
11:40LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: To California, and let's talk particularly about Los Angeles, where people are still standing in line. People are standing in line all over the state. My phone is filled with texts from people, friends of mine in those lines. I have one from a Hollywood polling place where the casting director is in a conversation with a cinematographer and a math teacher and someone who is an undivided voter an hour ago in that line, and she says they just realized and only just realized that they'd been in the line for two hours because it's been so much fun and everybody has been — you know, it's an 80-degree day, so it's a warm night here. I've got one from a very affluent community in the Pacific Palisades, a director who has been in line for two hours. He's not complaining.
They're all kind of excited about this. And the infrastructure for voting in Los Angeles is a difficult one to maintain because in the last mayoral election — this is the election for the mayor of Los Angeles — the voter turnout was 20 percent. So to build an infrastructure in Los Angeles that is capable of handling this giant surge turnout that they're getting tonight is impossible. And so these people are not accustomed to standing in lines here. It doesn't usually happen. They're not complaining about it, and they are all — this turnout, I think we're seeing tonight from Massachusetts to California is not the Bernie turnout. It's not the Joe turnout. It is the Trump turnout. This is a turnout driven by a nationwide fear of Donald Trump remaining in office after the next election. These people are afraid of another four years of Donald Trump. They are afraid of what Donald Trump has done. That's who these voters are. This is a Donald trump-generated turnout tonight.
