Appearing as a guest on Sunday's PoliticsNation, MSNBC political analyst and Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter was busy scaremongering to get anti-Donald Trump voters to the polls, as he asserted that "the well-being of millions of citizens" is "on the ballot," and worried that there would be a "constitutional crisis" if Trump won the popular vote while losing the Electoral College.
The far left MSNBC analyst, who four years ago warned that "a lot of people will die" if Mitt Romney were elected, on Sunday's show ended up fretting: "Look, I'm normally a calm guy -- you know this -- but this is really serious."
After showing a pre-recorded interview with President Barack Obama, host Al Sharpton noted that President Obama has been campaigning for his desired successor more aggressively than Presidents usually do. Alter warned viewers as he responded:
Well, I think it's what he just said to you in your interview. His entire legacy is on the ballot and the well-being of millions of citizens. I think what people don't understand is that, if Trump's policies were enacted and likely would have a Republican Congress if he was elected, to pay for his tax cuts, you'd have to cut 40 percent from every other program. Every other program that benefits people would have to be cut by 40 to 50 percent.
He soon worried about the possibility of there being a "constitutional crisis." Alter:
The big question now is whether he -- President Obama and Michelle Obama have enough influence to get larger numbers of African-Americans to the polls in particular. His influence with all voters, but they're the swing voters in a lot of states. And also, even if you're not in a battleground state, if you don't vote and, say, Trump lost in the Electoral College but won the popular vote, we'll have a huge constitutional crisis in this country. So, even if you're in New York or Chicago or a place that's not real competitive, if you don't get out and vote, that really helps Trump.
A bit later, after fellow guest April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks brought up the Affordable Care Act, with Sharpton suggesting that it was a "major concern," Alter resumed his fearmongering:
Oh, huge, huge. It will be gutted. You will have millions of people who are thrown off of their insurance. Look, I'm normally a calm guy -- you know this -- but this is really serious, and I think what most of people watching this show, they're already voting, maybe some of them have already done so in early voting. It's the cousins, the nephews, the nieces, the people that all of you know who are, you know, they're a little complacent, as the President said, reluctant, and I think a lot of them don't understand the stakes that are involved.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Sunday, November 6, PoliticsNation on MSNBC:
AL SHARPTON: Jonathan, we've never seen a sitting President campaign like this for his successor before. What do you make of it?
JONATHAN ALTER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's what he just said to you in your interview. His entire legacy is on the ballot and the well-being of millions of citizens. I think what people don't understand is that, if Trump's policies were enacted and likely would have a Republican Congress if he was elected, to pay for his tax cuts, you'd have to cut 40 percent from every other program. Every other program that benefits people would have to be cut by 40 to 50 percent.
SHARPTON: And this is Trump's actual proposals.
ALTER: Right. This is his actual proposals. Then you also have, you know, things like minimum wage, climate change, all kinds of other right down the list of big issues. And they're not small differences between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There are huge differences that go to our values, so the big question now is whether he -- President Obama and Michelle Obama have enough influence to get larger numbers of African-Americans to the polls in particular.
His influence with all voters, but they're the swing voters in a lot of states. And also, even if you're not in a battleground state, if you don't vote and, say, Trump lost in the Electoral College but won the popular vote, we'll have a huge constitutional crisis in this country. So, even if you're in New York or Chicago or a place that's not real competitive, if you don't get out and vote, that really helps Trump.
(...)
APRIL RYAN, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS: And then you have the ACA, very controversial issue. You know, now, so many people, I mean, as you get older, things happen. Pre-existing conditions. You know, many people now are able to get insurance. It needs to be tweaked.
SHARPTON: And where are we going to go with the Affordable Care Act. It has to be a major concern.
ALTER: Oh, huge, huge. It will be gutted. You will have millions of people who are thrown off of their insurance. Look, I'm normally a calm guy -- you know this -- but this is really serious, and I think what most of people watching this show, they're already voting, maybe some of them have already done so in early voting. It's the cousins, the nephews, the nieces, the people that all of you know who are, you know, they're a little complacent, as the President said, reluctant, and I think a lot of them don't understand the stakes that are involved.
(...)
SHARPTON: So with all at stake, he's projecting this. Will these email negative headlines and words from the Republican nominee affect voters?
ALTER: Well, I think they already have a little bit, and what he just said is completely untrue, you know, that, they did not reopen a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton.
SHARPTON: So that's just factually untrue.
ALTER: Just factually inaccurate. He's the one who has the court date, November 28, for the fraud that is Trump University, the fake scam that he's been running. He has to appear in court then. He's facing many more legal challenges than she is, but he talks -- look, we just have to call it what it is. He lies consistently, and, as we know from history, the big lie works. Sometimes what it does is it just depresses people so they go, "I don't want to deal with any of this stuff," and they don't realize how much is at stake.
