During MSNBC’s Deadline: White House segment Thursday afternoon, host Nicole Wallace just could not help herself as she invited Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and analyst Michael Steele to rip into former National Security Advisor John Bolton over his new tell-all book. The criticism of Bolton did not focus on the veracity of his claims about President Trump, but the fact that those accusations came too late to help the Democrats’ impeachment effort that failed earlier this year.
Schiff got the ball rolling early in the segment, attacking Bolton’s “patriotism” but being careful not to attack his claims, which certainly have pleased Schiff and the Democratic Party:
You could question and should question John Bolton's patriotism in withholding this information during an impeachment proceeding. That doesn't detract from the seriousness of what he alleges against the President.
A few minutes later, Wallace herself got in on the action by questioning why Bolton and other staffers who have been critical of the President did not critique him sooner, slamming them and current staffers still working in the White House:
What's amazing to me is John Bolton saw this version of Donald Trump that he writes about in 592 pages on day one. They said bad things about Donald Trump behind his back on day one. There's a little community of fellow abused staffers at the highest levels of the White House staff. That's what comes through on the pages of John Bolton's book.
Guest Michael Steele then delivered the final rhetorical beating of the segment, saying that Bolton and these staffers were essentially scared and trapped into silence, ending his critique by following on Schiff’s point that Bolton failed by not testifying or releasing this knowledge during the impeachment proceedings:
It is Stockholm Syndrome like where people, somehow-- maybe they come in enamored of being in the West Wing and caught up in the moment of the presidency, the president. But then the hard, ugly truth comes crashing down and you feel trapped and maybe you can't get out. Bolton had an escape hatch, it was called impeachment. He could have, I think, in that moment, served his country in a manner unlike any who have come before him.
As much as the hosts on MSNBC criticize Trump for wanting to have his cake and eat it too, here they are as guilty of it as he has ever been. It is quite a feat of mental gymnastics for them to support, talk about, and not-so-secretly love the allegations in Bolton’s book, but criticize his patriotism and say that he should have come forward with it sooner.
In another example of that hypocrisy, on Tuesday night, MSNBC host Chris Hayes slammed Bolton as "duplicitous" and "untrustworthy" while assuming all of his allegations against Trump were completely true. Which way is it?
These hosts may say that many revelations have appeared about Trump from this book, but their coverage of them reveal just as much about the media as it does about President Trump.
MSNBC’s Deadline: White House
6-18-20
4:03 PM ET
ADAM SCHIFF: You could question and should question John Bolton's patriotism in withholding this information during an impeachment proceeding. That doesn't detract from the seriousness of what he alleges against the President.
(...)
4:07 PM ET
NICOLE WALLACE: Michael Steele, let's talk about the human being that John Bolton describes. He describes a president who encouraged Chinese President XI to build concentration camps. He said it was a good idea. He asked if Finland was part of Russia. I've read some of the Ukraine section. It is -- I think Bolton says this, Trump's conduct is worse than the conduct for which he was impeached and acquitted. I'm still capable of being shocked and disgusted by descriptions of Donald Trump. What's amazing to me is John Bolton saw this version of Donald Trump that he writes about in 592 pages on day one. They said bad things about Donald Trump behind his back on day one. There's a little community of fellow abused staffers at the highest levels of the White House staff. That's what comes through on the pages of John Bolton's book.
MICHAEL STEELE: Yeah. It is Stockholm syndrome like where people, somehow-- maybe they come in enamored of being in the West Wing and caught up in the moment of the presidency, the president. But then the hard, ugly truth comes crashing down and you feel trapped and maybe you can't get out. Bolton had an escape hatch, it was called impeachment. He could have, I think, in that moment, served his country in a manner unlike any who have come before him.
