On Tuesday night, failed McCain/Palin campaign official, former Republican, and MSNBC’s Deadline: White House host Nicolle Wallace apologized for claiming during Monday’s show that President Donald Trump has been “talking about exterminating Latinos.” Wallace’s comments were first flagged by our very own contributing writer Mark Finkelstein.
First, here's the apology that Wallace issued on Twitter:
Of course, as evidenced above, she couldn’t just say she was “sorry” without attacking the President. What an ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome must be!
The apology came after Wallace’s ugly comments were first flagged early Monday evening (then published midday Tuesday) by Finkelstein. Soon after his item went live, Wallace’s horrid rhetoric was also written about by our friend Ryan Saavedra at The Daily Wire along with sites like The Blaze, The Right Scoop, The Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Weasel Zippers, and Western Journal.
To recap her comments, Wallace was reacting to Saturday’s act of terror at an El Paso, Texas by an alleged white supremacist who was intent on murdering Latinos. Not surprisingly, Wallace decided to place blame on President Trump with an assist from panelist Raul Reyes.
Here was part of what Reyes said in teeing up Wallace (click “expand”):
In words and actions throughout his presidency, he's basically declared open-season on Latinos because we are one of his favorite targets and it’s not just the language he used, you mentioned calling Mexicans drug dealers and rapists when he came down the escalator. That was day one. Then it escalated into attacks on Latino journalists. It escalated into attacks on the so-called, in his words, then Mexican judge. Then ramped it up again to the invasion, the warning people of a caravan and words like infestation. What do you do with an infestation? With an infestation, the natural conclusion is attempt an extermination. So to me, there’s very little distinction between his inciting this violence and the fact it's now happening because sad to say, it's probably inevitable.
Wallace then lamented that her former boss George W. Bush tried to make inroads on immigration reform while President while Barack Obama tried to address the issue as well, but for Trump, she falsely asserted as if Trump were trying to enact another Holocaust: “You now have a President, as you said, talking about exterminating Latinos.”
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Deadline: White House on August 6, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Deadline: White House
August 6, 2019
4:13 p.m. EasternRAUL REYES: In words and actions throughout his presidency, he's basically declared open-season on Latinos because we are one of his favorite targets and it’s not just the language he used, you mentioned calling Mexicans drug dealers and rapists when he came down the escalator. That was day one. Then it escalated into attacks on Latino journalists. It escalated into attacks on the so-called, in his words, then Mexican judge.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Curiel.
REYES: Then ramped it up again to the invasion, the warning people of a caravan and words like infestation. What do you do with an infestation? With an infestation, the natural conclusion is attempt an extermination. So to me, there’s very little distinction between his inciting this violence and the fact it's now happening because sad to say, it's probably inevitable. He knows what he's doing. This resonates with a portion of his base and he has succeeded unfortunately in turning virtually the entire conversation about Latinos in the United States to — to hinge on illegal immigration, undocumented people and the purported threat Latinos pose to this country. You never — we never hear in this country, very rarely, about hear Latinos in education, Latinos views on health care, climate change, it is solely around immigration and that's in large part to him. And in that sense very tragically he has succeeded.
WALLACE: What — what do you do when, certainly, the last Republican president fought for, sought, and — and — and it's not ideal but had 44 percent of Latino voters.
REYES: Right.
WALLACE: So politically powerful inside the last Republican administration. President Obama used the power of the presidency to try to pass comprehensive immigration reform, with the Latino community, Latino leaders, at the table. You now have a President, as you said, talking about exterminating Latinos.
REYES: Right.
