Dearest readers, never go full Ed Schultz. It’s never a good look. On Tuesday’s ReidOut, MSNBC host Joy Reid did just that, accusing Republicans of “bolt[ing] the door” shut in a burning house, purposefully trapping Americans as the coronavirus rages and see no problem with any and all Americans who die as a result of it.
And if the venomous rhetoric wasn’t enough, Reid demanded Americans spend the holidays in crippling mental isolation (or risk burying relatives at Christmas), peddled fake news on Operation Warp Speed, and stated Republicans “don’t care” about unemployment among minorities.
Reid began with the house fire analogy:
Imagine, if you can, being in a house that’s on fire and while you can hear the fire department sirens in the distance, rescue is so close. You can't get out because someone has bolted the door. America is in a national coronavirus crisis. Our house is on fire and Republican elected officials are doing the equal of locking the door with the American people trapped inside.
After pointing out the increasing caseload of coronavirus cases in all 50 states (and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley’s testing positive), Reid suggested Republicans nationwide have been sitting idly by and doing nothing despite being “the party that bangs on about the sanctity of life.”
Reid then lobbed the disgusting claim about Republicans wanting death: “[T]hey’re busy fighting mask mandates and pushing back on common sense health recommendations because freedom, which apparently means the freedom to die and the freedom to kill other people with the virus.”
“So, while Republicans are busy demanding freedom from masks, they apparently could care less about the 248,000 Americans who’ve lost their lives to the virus and they accept no responsibility for any of it,” she added.
Reid’s Operation Warp Speed lie came after a mash-up of clips from Republican Senators (click “expand”):
SENATOR JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): This vaccine truly is the light at the end of the tunnel and made possible by the commitment of the Republican majority in the Senate and this administration. And our efforts to focus on Operation Warp Speed.
SENATOR JONI ERNST (R-IA): Operation Warp Speed has been a tremendous success for this administration. I do want to give a shout out to the Trump administration for making this possible.
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Looks to me like the Speaker, the Democratic leader of the Senate, and former vice president Biden all have the view that two and a half trillion or nothing.
SENATOR JOHN THUNE (R-SD): We'll continue to have an open door and we're ready to negotiate at moments notice.
REID: I just want to fact check real quick to remind y’all that the companies themselves that are producing the vaccines were not involved in operation warp speed and have said as much, so that's a lie. Meanwhile, it is Democrats who have passed a comprehensive coronavirus package way back in may and passed it again in October. It's currently languishing somewhere in McConnell's office next to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Calling Republicans the sole source of “political divisiveness” and a “rot” that’s “spread...all the way to the states,” Reid insisted that, unlike Republicans, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) wants “to protect people” and it makes her “want to climb the walls” that anyone would oppose her.
Here was Reid continuing her analogy that Republicans want to see people die and saying that families will be burying relatives at Christmas if they see each other at Thanksgiving (click “expand”):
REID: They also don't protect people from dying at COVID. Dr. Atlas works with Trump and I wanna note, by the way, that your state has 288,000 cases. 8,431 deaths. That is a couple of 9/11s plus. Here’s Dr. Atlas criticizing plans — criticizing people who say don't go see elderly relatives at Thanksgiving. Here’s Dr. Atlas.
DR. SCOTT ATLAS [on FNC’s The Story, 11/16/20]: This kind of isolation is one of the unspoken tragedies of the elderly who are now being told, don't see your family at Thanksgiving. For many people, this is their final Thanksgiving, believe it or not. What are we doing here? I think we have to have a policy which I have been advocating, which is a whole person, whole health policy. It's not about just stopping cases of COVID. We have to talk about the damage of the policy itself.
REID: He said, for many people, this is — this may — this is their final Thanksgiving. And it will be for a lot of the people if they see their elderly relatives. Then they can bury them around Christmas time. Yet, your state’s Republican Party is trying to impeach you for having restrictions. What do you even say to that?
(....)
REID: [U]nfortunately, we have to fight the virus and a political party that’s entrenched itself in standing four square against democracy and against fighting a virus. They’ve taken the other side in terms of the war against the virus. I don't get it.
At the end of the show, Reid falsely claimed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “is laser-focused on pushing through right-wing judges and nominees but in no great hurry to pass a bill that would give Americans the relief that they so desperately need right now.”
Representing the side that’s demanded all Americans come together post-election, Reid told former HUD Secretary Julian Castro that she doesn’t “understand Republicans” and doesn’t “understand what they are.”
In the show’s final minute, Reid fed one last dose of poison to viewers by claiming Republicans “don’t care” about nationwide economic hardship other than what happens to white people (and despite President Trump’s massive support among minorities).
Joy Reid accusing Republicans of willfully wanting to see mass coronavirus deaths was made possible thanks to (and thus made possible thanks to the endorsement of) advertisers such as Chevrolet, Discover, and Qunol. Follow the links to the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant MSNBC transcript from November 17, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s The ReidOut
November 17, 2020
7:00 p.m. EasternJOY REID: Imagine, if you can, being in a house that’s on fire and while you can hear the fire department sirens in the distance, rescue is so close. You can't get out because someone has bolted the door. America is in a national coronavirus crisis. Our house is on fire and Republican elected officials are doing the equal of locking the door with the American people trapped inside. Every single state plus Washington D.C., Virgin Islands all reported increases in cases of the terrifying illness caused by the coronavirus in the past two weeks. 70,000 Americans are hospitalized tonight and thousands are dying, alone in hospitals across the country and having to say good-bye on their phones and iPads. Even the White House Task Force, which has had no contact with the President of the United States in five months, issued an alarming assessment this week, which was obtained by NBC News, warning of an “aggressive, unrelenting, expanding broad community spread across the country....reaching most counties without evidence of improvement but rather, further deterioration. And tonight, Chuck Grassley, the 87 year-old Republican senator from Iowa has confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19. Just yesterday, he was in the Senate chamber, maskless. So where is the President's party? Where is the party that bangs on about the sanctity of life? Right now, they’re busy fighting mask mandates and pushing back on common sense health recommendations because freedom, which apparently means the freedom to die and the freedom to kill other people with the virus. Take Senator Ted Cruz. His home state of Texas is overwhelmed. Hospitals are reaching the breaking point. But the junior Senator is busy lobbing Twitter insults at Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, calling him an “ass” and an idiot. His words, not mine, because he dared to ask a fellow Republican to wear a mask while residing over the chamber.
[SENATE CLIP]
REID: So, while Republicans are busy demanding freedom from masks, they apparently could care less about the 248,000 Americans who’ve lost their lives to the virus and they accept no responsibility for any of it. In fact, believe it or not, they think they deserve credit.
SENATOR JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): This vaccine truly is the light at the end of the tunnel and made possible by the commitment of the Republican majority in the Senate and this administration. And our efforts to focus on Operation Warp Speed.
SENATOR JONI ERNST (R-IA): Operation Warp Speed has been a tremendous success for this administration. I do want to give a shout out to the Trump administration for making this possible.
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Looks to me like the Speaker, the Democratic leader of the Senate, and former vice president Biden all have the view that two and a half trillion or nothing.
SENATOR JOHN THUNE (R-SD): We'll continue to have an open door and we're ready to negotiate at moments notice.
REID: I just want to fact check real quick to remind y’all that the companies themselves that are producing the vaccines were not involved in operation warp speed and have said as much, so that's a lie. Meanwhile, it is Democrats who have passed a comprehensive coronavirus package way back in may and passed it again in October. It's currently languishing somewhere in McConnell's office next to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And today, Dr. Anthony Fauci seemed really frustrated by the politicization by Republicans of the virus.
DR. TONY FAUCI: This is the worst outbreak that we’ve had of a respiratory born illness in 102 years. You can't run away from the data. It’s incomprehensible to me how people are not seeing that. These are real numbers and unfortunately, we’ve gotten into a situation of political divisiveness that a public health message like on trying to give is not encroaching on anybody's freedom.
REID: Unfortunately for the American people, the political divisiveness, meaning the rot spread down the Republican pipeline all the way to the states a long time ago. In South Dakota as deaths continue to skyrocket, Governor Noem has proudly refused to enforce any statewide restrictions because, as her office puts it, they haven't worked. In Minnesota, Republican state senators refused to tell the Democratic counterparts they had an outbreak in their ranks. In Wisconsin, state Republicans worked at every turn to roll back any measure the democratic governor has implemented to try to fight the virus. The editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the party out, writing: “How many more have to get sick and die before lawmakers work with the governor and do their jobs?” And in neighboring Michigan, state Republicans are seeking to impeach Governor Gretchen Whitmer because she’s trying to protect people. On Sunday, the governor and state health officials announced new restrictions and a rise in cases. The house is on fire. And joining me now is Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. And Governor, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate your presence tonight. It is madness. I'm sorry. It's — it’s enough to make you want to climb the walls. It's incredible what Republicans are doing, including to you.
(....)
7:08 p.m. Eastern
REID: They also don't protect people from dying at COVID. Dr. Atlas works with Trump and I wanna note, by the way, that your state has 288,000 cases. 8,431 deaths. That is a couple of 9/11s plus. Here’s Dr. Atlas criticizing plans — criticizing people who say don't go see elderly relatives at Thanksgiving. Here’s Dr. Atlas.
DR. SCOTT ATLAS [on FNC’s The Story, 11/16/20]: This kind of isolation is one of the unspoken tragedies of the elderly who are now being told, don't see your family at Thanksgiving. For many people, this is their final Thanksgiving, believe it or not. What are we doing here? I think we have to have a policy which I have been advocating, which is a whole person, whole health policy. It's not about just stopping cases of COVID. We have to talk about the damage of the policy itself.
REID: He said, for many people, this is — this may — this is their final Thanksgiving. And it will be for a lot of the people if they see their elderly relatives. Then they can bury them around Christmas time. Yet, your state’s Republican Party is trying to impeach you for having restrictions. What do you even say to that?
GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): You know what? Here's what I say, COVID-19 doesn't care about your politics. COVID-19 does not care about the legislature being on their hunting break. When we're literally in the worst of the COVID outbreak since this began nine months ago. COVID-19 doesn't care if you want to see your relatives. It's a real threat. And the nation's governors are stepping in because there's been a vacuum at the federal level. We are doing the best we can to keep the people of the state safe. I'm grateful I have neighbors like Mike DeWine Ohio and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois. We have been trying to work together. We put out a PSA today where we are all involved, including Indiana and Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky as well, to call on people to mask up and not travel this holiday. We are following the science and that's how you save lives. That’s how you mitigate harm to the economy. That’s how you get people back to work and keep kids in school. But this rhetoric coming out of the Washington D.C. undermines the important work we're trying to do on the front line. We need resources. We need support. We need leaders who are accurate with the medical information they dispense and stop the politics around this public health crisis. It's killing people.
REID: Given the state of the Republican Party nationwide and in the state of Michigan, do you think that it will be even feasible or how will Joe Biden implement programs to reduce the spread to contain this virus? How can he get that done in a state like Michigan where people are willing to brandish guns because you asked them to wear a piece of cloth over their face in Walmart. I don't understand how Biden gets it done in the state like Michigan.
WHITMER: Listen, if anybody can get it done it's Joe Biden. And I think it’s important to recognize the vast majority of people in my state and probably in states across the nation are doing the right thing. They are good people who are trying to make sense out of all of the confusing and inaccurate information out of Washington D.C. They’re trying to protect families. They want leadership on this. That's why Joe Biden won so overwhelmingly and I think that's why the closer we get to the moment he is sworn in, I feel — I’m feeling more and more optimistic. I no he has a plan. I know he listens to experts and he can bring us together to fight this common enemy the virus. We're not one another's enemy. This virus is and we’ve got to rise to the challenge.
REID: Well, I'll take this for myself. I won’t put this on you, but unfortunately, we have to fight the virus and a political party that’s entrenched itself in standing four square against democracy and against fighting a virus. They’ve taken the other side in terms of the war against the virus. I don't get it. Stay safe. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Please stay our. I’m sure all of our audience is rooting for you. Thank you very much.
(....)
7:55 p.m. Eastern
REID: This is America. A country where people wait for hours and hours in food lines with the line of cars waiting for a box of food in Fort Worth, Texas, last Friday, extending three miles at one point as the pandemic and increased unemployment has stretched Americans’ wallets to the breaking point. It's the country where the most powerful man in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is laser-focused on pushing through right-wing judges and nominees but in no great hurry to pass a bill that would give Americans the relief that they so desperately need right now. Meanwhile, the situation is only getting worse with COVID cases rising in every single state, hospitals filling up in places like El Paso, Texas, having to resort to using inmates to staff their overflow morgues [INTRODUCES JULIAN CASTRO] You tweeted, sir, thank you so much for being here, you tweeted long food lines in Texas while COVID spikes and still Greg Abbott of Texas, the governor there, refuses to spend a penny on the state's rainy day fund. Instead, he waits for federal and local leaders to come through. The rainy day fund has run out and saying they won't use it until January. I don't understand Republicans. I’m just going to be honest. You know, I say it all the time, my father tended Republican. If he had been an American citizen, he would be a Reaganite. He's dead and gone and he’s rolling in his grave. I don't understand what they are. I don’t understand what they are. Do you understand what they are?
JULIAN CASTRO: No, I don't, Joy.
(....)
7:59 p.m. Eastern
REID: Well, I've likened it to he's the fire department that's like a few miles away. We're locked in the house with the people who won't let us out and the house is on fire. I mean, maybe they don't care because if you look at white unemployment, it's six percent, when you look at black unemployment, it’s 10.8 percent, Latino unemployment is 8.8 percent, Asian American unemployment 7.6 percent. Maybe they don't care because it isn't affecting them. You — just — very quickly, what Mitch McConnell proposed no stimulus check, $300 per week in enhanced unemployment, no new aid to states. Just a few small business loans but they want all of these conditions on them. Democrats have proposed so much more in their bills, including the $1,200 stimulus check, $600 a week in enhanced unemployment, the $400 billion to state and local governments. If the Democrats don't win the Senate back, what do you think is going to happen next year?
JULIAN CASTRO: I think there are going to be a lot of people who are evicted, who are basically kicked to the curb. In the months ahead, I think that there are going to be a lot more families that go hungry. We’re going to see a lot more people who basically are homeless on our streets or doubling up.
REID: Yeah. Yeah.
CASTRO: It's too bad for your country.
REID: Yeah. Indeed.
