The liberal media’s fake news machine reared its head on Tuesday when numerous outlets falsely claimed Attorney General Jeff Sessions chanted the infamous “lock her up” chant about Hillary Clinton when prompted by students at the Turning Point USA high school conference.
MSNBC’s Hardball was one such place with host Chris Matthews asserting that he “join[ed] in chants of ‘lock her up’” while panelists lost their minds over “crazy” and “troubling” behavior by Sessions and students, respectively, that should have led news programs and “calls for investigation for his conduct.”
Despite all of this, the fact remains that he didn’t chant “lock her up” or anything of the sort. He chuckled and then acknowledged them before moving on. Nothing else, but here we are yet again with the media trying to make hay when they should be putting down the brown paper bags and relax.
“And Attorney General Jeff Sessions joins in chants of lock her up. He’s the — he’s Attorney General and he is chanting lock her up about Hillary Clinton for a conference of conservative high school students. Anyway, the Hardball Roundtable weigh in on that baby,” Matthews erroneously declared in one of two teases.
Once Matthews played the full bit at the top of the Roundtable segment, Matthews fretted that Sessions spoke “not at a partisan rally, which it sounds like, but to a crowd of conservative high school students...in his official capacity participating in a chant about locking up someone who hasn't been charged with anything.”
“Sam, the AG — doesn't he know he’s there on television, singing this song of partisanship all the way,” Matthews stated to The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein.
Stein was disturbed, asserting that “we’ve grown a little numb to this, but that is crazy and under any previous administration, it would have been the top story” with “non-stop” coverage and “even falls for investigation for his conduct.”
Seriously, Sam. Would you guys have been all over it if, say, Joe Biden, Eric Holder, or Susan Rice did this? No. Oh wait, Biden said Mitt Romney wanted to put African-Americans back in chains. I seem to recall the outrage wasn’t universal.
At any rate, Stein continued by invoking the supposed brilliance of Barack Obama, which he would repeat later (click “expand” to read more):
But the thing that was interesting to me was — Barack Obama would have called this a teachable moment because, the day before, Nikki Haley was at this same crowd and she basically told them there needs to be more to life than just owning the libs, as the phrase is. You need to have purpose to it or try to have purpose. Sessions was presented with a similar memor — he could have said to them, this is not what a constitutional republic does. This is not — we are not a banana republic. We don’t lock up our opponents. Instead, he laughed and participated.
USA Today’s Susan Page was similarly incensed and added that “what I found most shocking about that...was that high school students in America are starting a chant of ‘lock her up’ about the candidate for president in the last election.”
“I find that shocking and also where idyllic young people have this view,” Page added before recalling John McCain scolding a woman at a 2008 campaign rally for claiming that Obama was a Muslim.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on July 24, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Hardball
July 24, 2018
7:15 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
CHRIS MATTHEWS: And Attorney General Jeff Sessions joins in chants of lock her up. He’s the — he’s Attorney General and he is chanting lock her up about Hillary Clinton for a conference of conservative high school students. Anyway, the Hardball Roundtable weight in on that baby.
(....)
7:35 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
MATTHEWS: Up next, the Attorney General of the United States joins a room of young conservatives chanting “lock her up.” That’s the AG doing this, the Attorney General. Hillary Clinton didn’t commit any crimes that we know about.
(....)
7:39 p.m. Eastern
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS: I like this bunch. I've got to tell you. You're not going to be backing down. Go-get-'em. Go-get-'em. Rather than molding —
TURNING POINT USA HIGH SCHOOL KIDS: Lock her up.
SESSIONS: “Lock her up.” So, I heard that a long time over the last campaign.
MATTHEWS: Well now, we’re hearing it again, Mr. Attorney General. Welcome back to Hardball. That was Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier today speaking not at a partisan rally, which it sounds like, but to a crowd of conservative high school students. This is the head, by the way, of the Department of Justice, to remind us all, in his official capacity participating in a chant about locking up someone who hasn't been charged with anything. Sessions has been under immense pressure, obviously, from President Trump and his allies to show his allies to the President, especially on matters with the Russia probe.
(....)
MATTHEWS: Sam, the AG — doesn't he know he’s there on television, singing this song of partisanship all the way.
SAM STEIN: Ah yes, I think we’ve grown a little numb to this, but that is crazy. And under any previous administration, it would have been the top story. People would have been talking about it non-stop. There might have even calls for investigation for his conduct of obvious reasons. He’s simply —
MATTHEWS: How about the irony of “lock her up” as an phrase with a administration with 20 indictments thrown at it already in the probe?
STEIN: Well, putting that aside.
MATTHEWS: Putting that aside? Lock them up.
STEIN: But the thing that was interesting to me was — Barack Obama would have called this a teachable moment because, the day before, Nikki Haley was at this same crowd and she basically told them there needs to be more to life than just owning the libs, as the phrase is. You need to have purpose to it or try to have purpose. Sessions was presented with a similar memor — he could have said to them, this is not what a constitutional republic does. This is not — we are not a banana republic. We don’t lock up our opponents. Instead, he laughed and participated.
(....)
SUSAN PAGE: I do think you have to triage your outrage, though. I mean, that’s the trouble and that’s why the fact that the Attorney is chanting — he didn't just laugh, he joined the chant.
STEIN: And he joined the chant.
PAGE: “Lock her up” is not at the top of all of our newscasts. But you know what I found most shocking about that? It was that high school students in America are starting a chant of “lock her up” about the candidate for president in the last election. I find that as a sign of — I find that shocking.
MATTHEWS: Well, somebody else does too. Isn't that like Third World stuff —
PAGE: And also —
MATTHEWS: — where there’s no limit to the government?
PAGE: — where idyllic young people have this view.
STEIN: They don't know any better, but he does and it’s incumbent upon him to actually take that moment to educate them about why you don’t lock up your political opponents. Nikki Haley did that the day before and Jeff Sessions just didn't.
PAGE: John McCain used a teachable moment during his presidential campaign, right?
STEIN: Of course.
MATTHEWS: When the woman said he’s an Arab.
PAGE: Yeah, right.
ANITA KUMAR: Except that his boss, the President probably enjoyed that.
STEIN: Yep and he would have been in serious trouble had he tried to scold them.
PAGE: Used the teachable moment.
STEIN: Yeah, had he done that.
KUMAR: Well, he didn’t have to scold. He didn't have to do pre — he didn’t have to do either
STEIN: Yeah.
KUMAR: He could have let the moment pass also.
STEIN: Absolutely.
