File this one under No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, or, Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't.
Morning Joe was in no mood after the Christmas weekend to give Donald Trump any credit for his vigorous advocacy of the COVID vaccine during an interview with Candace Owens, something that earned him the scorn of Alex Jones, who is now categorizing him as one of the most evil men ever.
Nope: it was just a nefarious ploy, with an eye to 2024, to win back the suburbs.Joe Scarborough, Al Sharpton, and Jonathan Lemire all sounded that same note.
Scarborough: "Donald Trump obviously understands what he needs to do to get back to the White House. If you’ve lost the suburbs, and Republicans have outperformed you, other Republican candidates have outperformed you across America because you lost the suburbs, because you were embracing the people like the two people who were attacking him right there, you move away from them, and you let them insult you, so people in the Atlanta suburbs, people in the Philly suburbs, people in all of these suburbs that abandoned him while still voting for other Republicans, they take note of that and go, wait a second, well maybe Donald Trump's not that crazy."
Sharpton: "Absolutely. No question about it. Donald Trump knows that he cannot scare those in the suburbs, that’s what this was all about . . . This is all politically calculated."
Lemire: "We should not give him too much credit . . . This is calculated and looking ahead to 2024."
Of course, MSNBC offered the morning sound that no other politician has ever adjusted his message to suit the political times. Joe Biden going from mildly pro-abortion to dramatically pro-abortion, and now even opposing the Hyde Amendment, for example. Totally a deep-seated, sincere, change of heart. Not the slightest political calculation in it!
Morning Joe dismissing Donald Trump's vaccine advocacy as an election ploy for winning back the suburbs in 2024 was sponsored in part by Kayak and Amazon.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
12/27/21
6:15 am ETMIKA BRZEZINSKI: Former President Trump, he once again defended coronavirus vaccines, even as it leads to reputes from his most ardent followers. In an interview with right-wing commentator, Candace Owens, Trump praised the vaccines and pushed back on skepticism common among his supporters.
CANDACE OWENS: More people have died under Covid this year by the way, under Joe Biden than under you. And when people took the vaccine this year, so people are questioning how–-
DONALD TRUMP: The vaccines work, but some people aren't taking it. The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. But, it's still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you're protected.
. . .
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The interviewer there later attacked him for being old and out of touch and etc., etc. for actually following the facts. And conspiracy theorists, the guy who tortured and mentally abused the parents whose children were tragically gunned down in Sandy Hook, and called them phonies. And here he is in a Christmas Day message.
ALEX JONES: An emergency Christmas Day warning to President Trump. You are either completely ignorant about the so-called vaccine gene therapy that you helped ram through with Operation Warp Speed, or yo're one of the most evil men who has ever lived.
. . .
SCARBOROUGH: Donald Trump obviously understands what he needs to do to get back to the White House. If you’ve lost the suburbs, and Republicans have outperformed you, other Republican candidates have outperformed you across America because you lost the suburbs, because you were embracing the people like the two people who were attacking him right there, you move away from them, and you let them insult you, so people in the Atlanta suburbs, people in the Philly suburbs, people in all of these suburbs that abandoned him while still voting for other Republicans, they take note of that and go, wait a second, well maybe Donald Trump's not that crazy.
AL SHARPTON: Absolutely. No question about it. Donald Trump knows that he cannot scare those in the suburbs. He cannot scare the independent voters. He cannot scare women voters, and to have the shot at being back in the White House and running a campaign in '24. And that’s what this was all about. Let’s not forget, while I certainly was glad to see him say this, and said it was like a Christmas gift. Well, let’s not forget this is the guy when he was in the White House talking about people taking bleach and denying this all the way up until this . . . He will kick the fringe to the curb for Donald Trump. There is nothing that is sacred to Donald Trump but Donald Trump . . . And this is all politically calculated.
. . .
JONATHAN LEMIRE: So yes, we shouldn't give him too much credit, although obviously a welcome development . . . This is calculated and looking ahead to 2024.
