On Thursday's The 11th Hour show, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle lamented that Republicans had distracted the country with "nonsense" and prevented Americans from getting to know newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Her over the top expression of sympathy for the liberal judge came as NBC News Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor gushed over Judge Jackson by citing praises from some of her friends.
Jonathan Capehart declared that Republicans "paint all people of color" as radicals and dismissed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's commentary on the confirmation as "barnyard expletive."
After recalling that a college friend of Jackson's had predicted she would end up on the Supreme Court, Alcindor -- also the host of PBS's Washington Week -- cited friends who characterized her as the "star" of their group.
Ruhle then followed up by bemoaning that Judge Jackson had had to answer challenging questions from Republicans: "Knowing what you know now, spending that time with her group chat, do you think the nation largely missed out on learning who Judge Jackson is because of all the rhetoric surrounding her nomination -- all the nonsense in the hearings?"
Going along with Ruhle's premise, Alcindor responded:
There are some who definitely feel like this Supreme Court nomination process was painful and it was messy and it was frankly offensive to her. One of her friends -- Nina Simmons -- told me that she was pained watching her friend have to answer questions about Critical Race Theory, and being accused of being soft on crime and soft on materials that depicts children being sexually abused. This was a moment they say should not have gotten this messy.
Invoking Democratic Senator Cory Booker's gushing, Alcindor added:
But they also bring up the Cory Booker moment, and said that her family and friends really did appreciate Senator Booker giving her that pep talk -- saying that she was a great American and that she didn't have to worry, that God had her back. So, in some ways, it is true that there are people that think that the nation could have learned more about her during the confirmation process, but now she'll be on the bench for a long time coming, and then she'll be able to learn more about her.
Ruhle then played a clip of Senator McConnell asserting that Republican questioning of Judge Jackson had been done respectfully, and asked Capehart for his response. Capehart -- who also hosts a weekend show on MSNBC -- went after McConnell and other Republicans as he began his reply: "I think that's a -- it -- it's a barnyard expletive. I'll just put it -- I'll put it like that. I mean, Minority Leader McConnell, what he said there is not uncharacteristic of what he would say. I find that appalling..."
He went on to declare that Republicans "paint all people of color -- particularly black people -- as being radical."
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Transcript follows. Click "expand" to read more.
MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
April 7, 2022
11:08 p.m. Eastern
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: I talked to one friend (of Ketanji Brown Jackson), Antoinette Coakley, who predicted when they were in college at Harvard and Harvard Law together that she would be the first black woman on the Supreme Court. She said that's because she was brilliant but also because she was someone who is empathetic with people she didn't agree sometimes in her dorm room to talk about the law -- that she was someone who was already interested, even at a young age, of reaching across the aisle -- of really understanding other perspectives.
These women also said that she was the star in the group because -- in some says -- I talked to her group chat today and said that she is someone who is supportive of her friends who shows up for her family and for the people that she loves -- that she is someone they say will be fair once she's on the bench.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: That is so amazing. I know I was definitely not friends with anyone in college that I would have predicted would be on the Supreme Court for sure. Knowing what you know now, spending that time with her group chat, do you think the nation largely missed out on learning who Judge Jackson is because of all the rhetoric surrounding her nomination -- all the nonsense in the hearings?
ALCINDOR: Well, I'll tell you that -- I'll tell you that she has 30 years or more -- at least 30 years or more because she will be on the bench for a long time coming. That is the expectation of Democrats. She's 51 years old. There are some who definitely feel like this Supreme Court nomination process was painful and it was messy and it was frankly offensive to her. One of her friends -- Nina Simmons -- told me that she was pained watching her friend have to answer questions about Critical Race Theory, and being accused of being soft on crime and soft on materials that depicts children being sexually abused.
This was a moment they say should not have gotten this messy. But they also bring up the Cory Booker moment, and said that her family and friends really did appreciate Senator Booker giving her that pep talk -- saying that she was a great American and that she didn't have to worry, that God had her back. So, in some ways, it is true that there are people that think that the nation could have learned more about her during the confirmation process, but now she'll be on the bench for a long time coming, and then she'll be able to learn more about her.
RUHLE: Well, Mitch McConnell didn't think those hearings were messy at all. I want to share what he told Fox News tonight.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: Do you regret any of the rhetoric under this nomination process?
MITCH McCONNELL, SENATE MINORITY LEADER: No, ideology is the point. She was treated very respectfully. We looked at her record. (editing jump) She wouldn't join Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer in denouncing court packing. (editing jump) She had a clear and demonstrable record of sentencing -- particularly in child pornography cases, for example -- below the guidelines. So the judge is a judicial activist.
RUHLE: Jonathan, "She was treated respectfully." He saw no issue. What do you think of that?
JONATHAN CAPEHART, ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Well, I think that's a -- it -- it's a barnyard expletive. I'll just put it -- I'll put it like that. I mean, Minority Leader McConnell, what he said there is not uncharacteristic of what he would say. I find that appalling that he would echo some of the false allegations against Judge Jackson when it came to the child pornography cases, leaving out the fact that Republican-appointed federal judges made similar rulings to Judge Jackson, but it's all part, Stephanie, of the larger gambit for Republicans to paint Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as some kind of radical -- as someone who's outside the mainstream.
And it's easy for Republicans to do that because they paint all people of color -- particularly black people -- as being radical, as being in some way, you know, soft on crime, soft on child predators, pushing Critical Race Theory when it has nothing to do with what she would be doing on the Supreme Court or what she is doing here on the D.C. Court of Appeals. It's shameful that someone with Judge Jackson's record would be made out to be a radical.
