Appearing on MSNBC late Thursday morning, left-wing Princeton University professor and network contributor Eddie Glaude hailed Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as “courageous” for smearing her Republican colleague Mark Meadows as a “racist” during Wednesday’s Michael Cohen hearing. The liberal pundit even accused Meadows of shedding “crocodile tears” in response to the nasty accusation.
Fill-in anchor Chris Jansing showed a condensed portion of the hostile exchange between Tlaib and Meadows over the conservative lawmaker inviting African-American Trump administration official Lynne Patton into the hearing to refute Cohens’s charge that the President was a racist. A clip ran of Tlaib condemning the move: “The fact that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman, in this chamber, in this committee, is alone racist in itself.”
Another soundbite was featured of Meadows emotionally appealing to committee Chairman Elijah Cummings and defending himself against the incendiary charge: “Mr. Chairman, there’s nothing more personal to me than my relationship – my nieces and nephews are people of color. Not many people know that. You know that, Mr. Chairman.”
Moments later, Jansing breathlessly tried to bolstered Tlaib’s objection: “I am told and it’s been reported there were – some people gasped when Mark Meadows brought out this Trump staffer.” Glaude chimed in: “Well, I was horrified. I found it insulting. Congressman Meadows used Lynne Patton as if she was a black Venus and just put her on display.”
No mention was made of the fact that Patton appeared on Fox & Friends earlier that morning to defend Trump and explain her decision to make an appearance at the hearing.
Instead, Glaude praised:
I found Representative Tlaib’s effort to call that out in real time courageous. Because in some ways, the effort was to undermine what Cohen was trying to put forward, that Donald Trump wasn’t – that Donald Trump was a racist. And Congressman Meadows was trying to make the claim that he wasn’t simply by pointing to black people.
Later in the discussion, Glaude scolded Meadows for objecting to being called a racist:
And let’s be very clear, too, that Mark Meadows’ fragility, the fact that he teared up, doesn’t make him innocent. White fragility doesn’t equal white innocence. And one wonders, right, these are the same people who are so quick to call folks snowflakes. One wonders who’s actually the snowflake here. When he was actually called out in real time.
And so, part of way – let me just say this really quickly, Chris – we’re not going to get beyond this if we hide behind civility. Civility is often the mask of cruelty. What Representative Tlaib did yesterday was to call it out in real time. And now, we can actually have a dialogue. I don’t think she needed to apologize. She called it a racist act, she didn’t call him a racist. So she gave him space to grow. But instead, you know, he cried crocodile tears. Instead of listening to what she was trying to say.
Rather than push back on the assertion that Meadows was presenting false emotion, Jansing sympathized with Tlaib: “It was a very real emotional reaction that she had, as you say, in real time.”
Not only was Glaude doubling down on calling Meadows a racist, but he actually further attacked the GOP congressman for defending himself against the charge.
Here is a transcript of the February 28 exchange:
11:32 AM ET
CHRIS JANSING: There’s a pretty controversial viral moment that is continuing to make news this morning, but it’s really only kind of peripherally related to Cohen. It happened when Republican Mark Meadows brought out a black Trump administration official to the hearing as evidence that President Donald Trump is not a racist. Well, here’s what followed later in the hearing.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB [D-MI]: The fact that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman, in this chamber, in this committee, is alone racist in itself. Donald Trump is setting a precedent –
REP. MARK MEADOWS [R-NC]: Mr. Chairman, I ask that her words be taken down.
TLAIB: Donald Trump is setting a precedent – I reclaim my time.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS [D-MD]: Ms. Tlaib, is it – I want to make sure I understand. You did not – you were not intending to call Mr. Meadows a racist, is that right?
TLAIB: No, Mr. Chairman, I do not call Mr. Meadows a racist.
MEADOWS: Mr. Chairman, there’s nothing more personal to me than my relationship – my nieces and nephews are people of color. Not many people know that. You know that, Mr. Chairman.
JANSING: It was even longer, that exchange, and it was tense, it was uncomfortable, it put the Chairman in the middle of a highly charged conversation about race. Now this morning, Congresswoman Tlaib repeated her apology to Mark Meadows even as questions are being raised about whether the hearing was the right place to have this conversation.
(...)
11:34 AM ETJANSING: I am told and it’s been reported there were – some people gasped when Mark Meadows brought out this Trump staffer. Eddie, what was your reaction then to that, and then, seeing the exchange?
EDDIE GLAUDE: Well, I was horrified. I found it insulting. Congressman Meadows used Lynne Patton as if she was a black Venus and just put her on display. There’s no necessary relationship between having a black friend or having a black person work for you and you not being susceptible to racist behavior.
And so, I found Representative Tlaib’s effort to call that out in real time courageous. Because in some ways, the effort was to undermine what Cohen was trying to put forward, that Donald Trump wasn’t – that Donald Trump was a racist. And Congressman Meadows was trying to make the claim that he wasn’t simply by pointing to black people. And that’s just – we’re at a point in 2019, well, that just can’t be – that just can’t stand any longer.
(...)
11:37 AM ET
GLAUDE: And let’s be very clear, too, that Mark Meadows’ fragility, the fact that he teared up, doesn’t make him innocent. White fragility doesn’t equal white innocence. And one wonders, right, these are the same people who are so quick to call folks snowflakes. One wonders who’s actually the snowflake here. When he was actually called out in real time.
And so, part of way – let me just say this really quickly, Chris – we’re not going to get beyond this if we hide behind civility. Civility is often the mask of cruelty. What Representative Tlaib did yesterday was to call it out in real time. And now, we can actually have a dialogue. I don’t think she needed to apologize. She called it a racist act, she didn’t call him a racist. So she gave him space to grow. But instead, you know, he cried crocodile tears. Instead of listening to what she was trying to say.
JANSING: It was a very real emotional reaction that she had, as you say, in real time.
(...)
