Today on Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough and regular panelist Nicolle Wallace suggested liberals are beginning to recognize that Donald Trump “has a point” on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. Wallace, a former Bush staffer, noted she is “a huge Trump denier. You know, I think he's a bozo. I'm from San Francisco. Right now people in San Francisco, the most liberal city in America, think Trump has a point when it comes to illegal immigration.”
She continued, citing the deafening silence from the White House on Kate Steinle’s murder: "Her brother spoke eloquently about being right down the middle politically, but he wants to see something done. [He] can't understand why the White House hasn't reached out to that family about sanctuary cities that blatantly defy federal law.”
Scarborough said he has been hearing similar things. The MSNBC personality and former Florida congressman admitted that the billionaire real estate mogul has everyone talking:
Nicolle’s talking about liberals from California saying Trump has a point. I was talking yesterday about our friend out in Oregon, Derek, who – construction workers who were working on a renovation at his house, they're all independents or Democrats, they're all talking about Trump.
The Morning Joe host declared that this phenomenon is rare in American politics: “You don't really see this often in American politics, Mika. I know that makes a lot of people in our little bubble cringe. But you – when people like Ross Perot come along and start talking this way and start connecting, it really does shake up the apple cart.” He added:
[I]t just doesn't happen that much that you have liberals in San Francisco, you have construction workers in Oregon, you have people all across the southeast that know this guy gave money to Hillary Clinton, know this guy supported single-payer – single-payer health care system, that they're supporting him. It is really very – he’s a very, very disruptive force right now.
Scarborough gave his political advice to the other presidential candidates on how to deal with Trump. He suggested the candidates – particularly Jeb Bush – go after the businessman, remarking that “this is a great opportunity” for any of the candidates to fight back and look strong.
[h/t The Right Scoop]
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
July 14, 2015
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joe, with about three weeks before the first Republican debate, Trump looks all but certain to have a spot among the top ten candidates. What do you think?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, he really does. And he is – without a doubt, Mika, this guy is sucking up all of the oxygen in the room. Scott Walker, obviously, I mean, he's a top tier candidate. He's a guy that's going to be there at the end most likely. But whether you're Jeb Bush or Schmidt – I mean Jeb Bush or Walker or Rubio, Donald Trump is taking up all the oxygen in the room. That's all the media is talking about. And while a lot of people go oh, well the media is feeding into this, that's all the people who are
coming up to you and me on the streets are talking about too. What do you think about Trump? I like Trump, I hate Trump. Right now, Donald Trump is where Donald Trump wants to be.
[...]
NICOLLE WALLACE: I'm a huge Trump denier. You know, I think he's a bozo. I'm from San Francisco. Right now people in San Francisco, the most liberal city in America, think Trump has a point when it comes to illegal immigration. The family of Kate Steinle made their first media appearances last night. Her brother spoke eloquently about being right down the middle politically, but he wants to see something done. [He] can't understand why the White House hasn't reached out to that family about sanctuary cities that blatantly defy federal law. That's Trump's message and that's why, I think, in part he just became a more powerful figure in the primary.
BRZEZINSKI: Joe, what do you think?
SCARBOROUGH: Well, I want to follow-up with what Nicolle said. It’s very interesting. Nicolle’s talking about liberals from California saying Trump has a point. I was talking yesterday about our friend out in Oregon, Derek, who – construction workers who were working on a renovation at his house, they're all independents or Democrats, they're all talking about Trump. You don't really see this often in American politics, Mika. I know that makes a lot of people in our little bubble cringe. But you – when people like Ross Perot come along and start talking this way and start connecting, it really does shake up the apple cart. And it just doesn't happen that much that you have liberals in San Francisco, you have construction workers in Oregon, you have people all across the southeast that know this guy gave money to Hillary Clinton, know this guy supported single-payer – single-payer health care system, that they're supporting him. It is really very – he’s a very, very disruptive force right now.
[...]
SCARBOROUGH: If I were in the Clinton campaign, I would say this is the greatest thing that ever happened to us. And if I were in the Bush campaign, I would say this is the greatest thing that ever happened to us. And if I were Jeb Bush, I would stop playing pretty – you know, stop playing pretty football and I would go after Trump and I would pummel him with both fists and I would keep punching him and I would be the man who destroyed Donald Trump if I were Jeb Bush. Trump saying he's a weakling, Trump saying he's a wuss. If I’m Jeb Bush, I see this as an opportunity and I go after him. I call him a bigot, I say he's a racist. I say that what he's said about illegal immigrants is offensive. I talk about my own background, I talk about all of the hard working immigrants in Florida that I grew up with, all of the hard working immigrants in Texas that I grew up with. This is a great opportunity and Steve Schmidt, I'm sure you'd agree, this is a great opportunity for anybody who wants it to be a great opportunity. But if you're sitting there playing it safe, hoping that the bully is going to walk past you and not punch you, you're going to get punched. Go after him. And by the way, this is just political advice. I am not saying that Jeb should. I'm saying politically, it's Jeb's best move.
