Hayes Accuses GOP Of 'Trying To Mow Down Every' Black Congressperson

Alex Christy
May 8th, 2026 2:06 PM

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During the in-between show handoff between MS NOW All In host Chris Hayes and The Briefing host Jen Psaki, Hayes made the wild and outlandish accusation that Republicans and the Supreme Court are trying to “mow down every black Congress member” in the South. After Psaki took over, she also tried to keep one-upping herself in terms of hot takes. Not only did she accuse Tennessee and Mississippi of being Civil War dead enders, but she engaged in conspiracy theorizing as she suggested the latter holding their redistricting votes in the old capitol building was “shady” despite the current building undergoing renovations.

During their chit-chat, Psaki previewed her upcoming show, “I’ve been dying to talk to Eric Holder. I’m gonna talk to him in just a moment. I think we all have to become experts on this, kind of, where states can, where the rules are challenging, what the laws are, all of it.”

 

 

Hayes agreed, “Yes, absolutely. And I think, again, the only thing we’ve learned here is you sort of fire with fire, and you got to sort of battle back to par. Which is what Democrats had done until, with the assistance of the Trump Supreme Court, the Southern states are now trying to mow down every black Congress member in the Old South.”

Psaki followed up by agreeing and repeating herself, “Exactly. We’re going to talk a lot about that. We’re talking about that with Eric Holder, too. But anyway, just another day in paradise. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Since redistricting only affects the House, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock will not have to worry about being gerrymandered out of his seat. There is also Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who always seems to go unmentioned in liberal conversations about elected black officials in the South.

About 12 minutes into her show, Psaki was covering redistricting efforts in Tennessee after the Supreme Court’s VRA ruling when she tried to restart a couple of state representatives' 15 minutes of fame:

Now, to put a fine point on it, after the vote, Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones, a Democrat, left the chamber, held up an image of the Confederate flag, and burned it… Another Democrat, State Representative Justin J. Pearson, who's running in a primary for that congressional seat, who was running in it, that Republicans eliminated today, called out exactly what the legislature did today in a statement, saying, in part, ‘Today's vote to redraw the congressional districts in Tennessee set our state back over 150 years. It was a political lynching that violated the rights of every Tennessean.’

 

 

It was not just Tennessee that Psaki accused of trying to avenge the Confederacy. Next, she moved on to Mississippi, “Meanwhile, Republicans in Tennessee's neighbor to the south, Mississippi, are planning their own vote to redraw and rig their congressional maps in the same building where Mississippi lawmakers voted to secede from the union in 1861 in an effort to continue enslaving black people, and where they met to enshrine Jim Crow laws after the Confederacy lost the Civil War.”

She also did not appear to buy the justification for such a move, “And it's not like this place just so happens to be where modern-day Mississippi lawmakers usually meet. This building, the old capitol, is now a museum. It has no real legislative use anymore. But Mississippi State House Republicans are convening there for a special session later this month to redraw their state Supreme Court districts, reportedly because of renovations at the current Mississippi Capitol building, where the State Senate will be meeting at the same time on the same issue. It's a little shady at best.”

Fact-check: The State Senate is not joining their House counterparts because their part of the building is not being worked on. It must be exhausting to assume everyone who disagrees with you is a wannabe Confederate and have to concoct conspiracy theories about construction plans to justify those beliefs, but that is “just another day” on MS NOW.

Here is a transcript for the May 7 show:

MS NOW The Briefing with Jen Psaki

5/7/2026

9:00 PM ET

JEN PSAKI: I’ve been dying to talk to Eric Holder. I’m gonna talk to him in just a moment. I think we all have to become experts on this, kind of, where—

CHRIS HAYES: Yeah.

PSAKI: —states can, where the rules are challenging, what the laws are, all of it.

HAYES: Yes, absolutely. And I think, again, the only thing we’ve learned here is you sort of fire with fire, and you got to sort of battle back to par. Which is what Democrats had done until, with the assistance of the Trump Supreme Court, the Southern states are now trying to mow down every black Congress member in the Old South.

PSAKI: Exactly. We’re going to talk a lot about that. We’re talking about that with Eric Holder, too. But anyway, just another day in paradise. I’ll see you tomorrow.

HAYES: Just another day in paradise, bye.

…

9:12 PM ET

PSAKI: Now, to put a fine point on it, after the vote, Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones, a Democrat, left the chamber, held up an image of the Confederate flag, and burned it. Another Democrat, you can see that on your screen right now too. Another Democrat, State Representative Justin J. Pearson, who's running in a primary for that congressional seat, who was running in it, that Republicans eliminated today, called out exactly what the legislature did today in a statement, saying, in part, “Today's vote to redraw the congressional districts in Tennessee set our state back over 150 years. It was a political lynching that violated the rights of every Tennessean.”

Meanwhile, Republicans in Tennessee's neighbor to the south, Mississippi, are planning their own vote to redraw and rig their congressional maps in the same building where Mississippi lawmakers voted to secede from the union in 1861 in an effort to continue enslaving black people, and where they met to enshrine Jim Crow laws after the Confederacy lost the Civil War.

And it's not like this place just so happens to be where modern-day Mississippi lawmakers usually meet. This building, the old capitol, is now a museum. It has no real legislative use anymore. But Mississippi State House Republicans are convening there for a special session later this month to redraw their state Supreme Court districts, reportedly because of renovations at the current Mississippi Capitol building, where the State Senate will be meeting at the same time on the same issue. It's a little shady at best.

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