MSNBC’s response to the previous two Republican presidential debates was to write them off as not worth anything and insist they knew who the nominee would be. And if you thought their tune would change just because their sister network, NBC was the one hosting the debate Wednesday night, you were very wrong. According to Last Word host Lawrence O’Donnell, the debate was held in the event former President Trump “chokes on a cheeseburger” and dies.
O’Donnell began his comments by bragging that this was “the first Republican debate I’ve watched” and “did not have to participate in any of this” because he was “luckily” enough to be “working at 10:00 p.m. during the previous Republican debates.”
“This is the debate for, you know, in case Trump chokes on a cheeseburger. That is what this debate is. If somehow, Trump falls out, it's going to be DeSantis or Haley. That’s what it looks like,” he decried the whole idea of GOP candidates speaking to GOP voters.
He even suggested none of the candidates on the debate stage that evening were ever serious about trying to become president:
Well, so, no. So, fame is its own currency now in politics, especially in Republican politics, as Trump proved. So, Vivek obviously is running for nothing but fame. Chris Christie needs to push up his fame, see if there might be more money in some sort of ABC contract, you know, after this. And I think Haley and DeSantis are the two who think maybe we have a future four years from now, maybe, and so we want to play credibly here. And Tim Scott is going to go back to his quiet life after this, and he is going to be a little bit more famous, and that might help him with a talk radio gig or something like that.
Ari Melber, host of MSNBC’s The Beat, also didn’t put value on the necessity for Republican voters to have choices in primary elections and caucuses. “I think the debate is probably irrelevant for the reason stated, unless something happens," he scoffed.
He also didn’t like how they didn’t bash Trump enough:
Out of the three that we have seen so far, it was the more serious debate. We heard some of the first policy criticisms of Trump as mentioned. That may be because it's not so scary to say that that the debt is high, you can walk it back. They’re certainly not dealing with the ethical and legal failing of Donald Trump as alleged in so many forums, but we heard more that.
Unironically, O’Donnell’s bad joke about a cheeseburger being what would finally take Trump down was basically a tacit admission that the legal cases against him might not do the job.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s Decision 2024: GOP Debate Analysis
November 8, 2023
10:09:57 p.m. Eastern(…)
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: This is, by the way, the first Republican debate I’ve watched. Luckily, I’ve been working at 10:00 p.m. during the previous Republican debates, and I did not have to participate in any of this.
[Laughter]
And I now see that Vivek is the MVP of the panel for this reason. He makes everyone else look better than they were ever going to look because, he is not just the most hated person by everyone on the stage, he's the most hate-able character who's ever had a role in presidential debating in either party.
And so, he's helping them by being up there. He's making Nikki Haley look better, look stronger, he’s making everybody up their --
RACHEL MADDOW: He’s humanizing Ron DeSantis.
O’DONNELL: All of them better. But, I mean – This is the debate for, you know, in case Trump chokes on a cheeseburger. That is what this debate is. If somehow, Trump falls out, it's going to be DeSantis or Haley. That’s what it looks like.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: But isn’t it the question? Are they just waiting for him to die, go to jail, or drop out, because no one's going after him?
O’DONNELL: Well, so, no. So, fame is its own currency now in politics, especially in Republican politics, as Trump proved. So, Vivek obviously is running for nothing but fame. Chris Christie needs to push up his fame, see if there might be more money in some sort of ABC contract, you know, after this. And I think Haley and DeSantis are the two who think maybe we have a future four years from now, maybe, and so we want to play credibly here. And Tim Scott is going to go back to his quiet life after this, and he is going to be a little bit more famous, and that might help him with a talk radio gig or something like that.
ARI MELBER: I think the debate is probably irrelevant for the reason stated, unless something happens. Out of the three that we have seen so far, it was the more serious debate. We heard some of the first policy criticisms of Trump as mentioned. That may be because it's not so scary to say that that the debt is high, you can walk it back. They’re certainly not dealing with the ethical and legal failing of Donald Trump as alleged in so many forums, but we heard more that.
(…)
