As President Trump was continuing to make remarks before signing an executive order implementing police reforms, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell cut off live coverage of the White House address, dismissing it as a “campaign rally speech.” She then lined up a panel of liberal guests to further denigrate the event and trash the president.
“And as we’re watching the president, he started out talking about police reform in an executive order that he is going to be signing but he has now launched into what would be a campaign rally speech,” Mitchell bitterly complained. She then accused him of “stating, inaccurately in fact, some facts about the pandemic” and “also talking about the very good retail sales numbers today, the stock market, and touting his reelection hopes.”
Turning to Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Mitchell bemoaned Trump criticizing his predecessor: “But he is talking more about police reform and, I would say inaccurately, blaming the Obama administration for not doing anything about it when in fact the Trump administration, the Trump White House dismantled President Obama’s post-Ferguson reforms and the additional consent decrees that were issued against police departments around the country.”
Bowser declared: “Yes, and unfortunately, as soon as he launched into that, I realized his remarks were going to be largely political remarks, in kind of emphasizing their obsession with President Obama.”
Minutes later, left-wing pundit Maya Wiley chimed in:
If you consider that speech he just gave, not only was it full of misinformation, he literally, over the lives and the bodies of black people that he opened his announcement with, actually started talking about the stock market and the incredible, you know, gains that we’re going to have from big pharma. I’m sorry, those are two things that black communities have largely been excluded from the benefits of. This administration has made clear they are on the side of lawless policing...
Mitchell reiterated that “what you heard there was a campaign speech.”
Former Democratic Congresswoman Donna Edwards rounded out the chorus of attacks on Trump:
Look, I think the president’s speech today, I mean, his attempt was to try to move this out of the headlines. And if he thought that anything that he said today would do anything to stop the protesters and stop the demand for law enforcement across this country from killing unarmed black people, this did not do it. And, you know, to go from talking about, you know, referencing the families of those who have been murdered to stock market gains and retail sales was appalling. Even listening to this as a campaign speech there was no connection from the beginning to the end.
So next time Joe Biden makes a public address, I’m sure viewers can expect MSNBC to cut out the moment he says something political and bring on a panel of conservative guests to bash him instead.
Thanks to News Analysis Intern Adam Burnett for providing a transcript of the June 16 discussion:
12:40 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: And as we’re watching the president, he started out talking about police reform in an executive order that he is going to be signing but he has now launched into what would be a campaign rally speech, stating, inaccurately in fact, some facts about the pandemic, not acknowledging 116,000 deaths but saying that even without a vaccine, people are getting well. And basically also talking about the very good retail sales numbers today, the stock market, and touting his reelection hopes.
Mayor Bowser, Muriel Bowser from D.C., has been standing by with us. We did hear him say he is in favor of banning chokeholds. He didn’t say that would be in the executive order, we want to see the language of it because we understood this would be studied by the Justice Department and outside groups. But he is talking more about police reform and, I would say inaccurately, blaming the Obama administration for not doing anything about it when in fact the Trump administration, the Trump White House dismantled President Obama’s post-Ferguson reforms and the additional consent decrees that were issued against police departments around the country.
MURIEL BOWSER: Yes, and unfortunately, as soon as he launched into that, I realized his remarks were going to be largely political remarks, in kind of emphasizing their obsession with President Obama. But regardless of what happens with an executive order, we have to push Congress for national change. I don't know what he’s talking about with the Senate Majority Leader’s bill, I don't think we’ve seen anything. But the House Democrats have very good measures that need to get out of the Congress. They can’t just die there.
(...)
12:48 PM ET
MAYA WILEY: The Trump administration has reversed all of the major efforts that the Obama administration set in place to keep more black people, more Latinos, more citizens, safe from abusive policing. If you consider that speech he just gave, not only was it full of misinformation, he literally, over the lives and the bodies of black people that he opened his announcement with, actually started talking about the stock market and the incredible, you know, gains that we’re going to have from big pharma. I’m sorry, those are two things that black communities have largely been excluded from the benefits of. This administration has made clear they are on the side of lawless policing in a law and order framework. And he just did that again. Andrea, we have to stop and take one – really one slowdown for a minute on the optics of that press conference. All I saw were white faces when we’re talking about black bodies.
MITCHELL: Indeed, with the exception of course of the senator from South Carolina, Tim Scott, who has been a leader on trying to get something out of the Republican Senate. Donna Edwards, finally, what you heard there was a campaign speech, where the president was on this tightrope trying to balance his law and order message supporting the police and talking about a few bad actors but not acknowledging the role of many police unions to oppose reform.
DONNA EDWARDS: Look, I think the president’s speech today, I mean, his attempt was to try to move this out of the headlines. And if he thought that anything that he said today would do anything to stop the protesters and stop the demand for law enforcement across this country from killing unarmed black people, this did not do it. And, you know, to go from talking about, you know, referencing the families of those who have been murdered to stock market gains and retail sales was appalling. Even listening to this as a campaign speech there was no connection from the beginning to the end. And this will not stop the calls to demand that Congress and across the country we really do something to fix abusive police departments.
(...)
