Despite calls from both the left and the right to de-escalate tensions in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump, MSNBC hosts continued to make inflammatory rhetoric during coverage of the Republican National Convention this week.
Prime-time hosts on liberal networks accused the candidates of being closet racists and even gave space to spread conspiracy theories questioning whether Trump was actually shot.
Here are the five most surprising statements made by MSNBC’s primetime hosts during their coverage of the Republican National Convention last week.
Alex Wagner: JD Vance is a closet white supremacist, even though he’s married to an Indian woman
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, gestures to Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
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MSNBC host Alex Wagner drew attention when he claimed that President Trump’s vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance, dropped a “white supremacist Easter egg” during his Republican National Convention speech when he said he wanted to be buried in his family’s graveyard in Kentucky.
“I think this construction of the concept reveals a lot about a guy who fundamentally believes in white supremacy and masculinity, and it’s wrapped up in a kind of peace, a return to his roots, but it really reveals what he thinks is important, who America is, and that America is a place for people who share his Western background,” Wagner said.
Joy Reid: Recovering from COVID is like surviving a gunshot wound
MSNBC’s Joy Reid Questioned Trump was indeed shot at a rally on Saturday, but on Wednesday he claimed that President Biden’s contracting COVID-19 and recovering was “the exact same thing” as Trump surviving an assassination attempt.
“The current president of the United States is 81 years old, he has COVID, he should recover in a few days. Doesn’t that mean exactly the same thing? He’s older than Trump and he’s more susceptible to a disease that was once really deadly for someone his age. So if he recovers from COVID and comes back and is able to hold rallies, wouldn’t that be exactly the same thing?” Reid asked.
Amber Rose hits back at Joy Reid after criticising her conference speech: ‘Stop stoking racism’
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is escorted off stage during a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Reid also appears to embrace far-left theories that cast doubt on the former president’s injuries.
“These are two elderly people. Donald Trump is elderly, yet for some reason he was given nine seconds in the middle of a mass shooting to take an iconic photo. It’s a strange situation, but it will unravel,” Reid said.
The liberal host also suggested Trump was facing “consequences” for his “dangerous” rhetoric.
“The idea of political violence that we have had ever since is so dangerous,” she said. “So dangerous that even if you are one of the promoters of it, you cannot avoid its consequences.”
Editors at ‘major news outlets’ told media to cover up iconic Trump photo following assassination attempt: Report
Joy Reid questioned Donald Trump’s injury in a post on the thread on Wednesday. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ESSENCE)/Screenshot/Threads)
Michael Steele: Was Trump Really Shot?
MSNBC host Michael Steele He was similarly accused of promoting a “conspiracy theory” this week when he questioned whether a bullet had hit President Trump’s ear.
“One person was killed and two were seriously injured, but we have not received a doctor’s note from the hospital, nor have we received a doctor’s note from the campaign or the Trump Organization regarding the extent of the ear damage,” Steele said.
“If he was shot with a high-caliber bullet, there would be very little of his ear left,” he continued. “So we want to know: Has there been plastic surgery? What is his chance of recovery? Has he had stitches? What is the extent and nature of the damage to his ear? Some reports have said it was glass from a teleprompter, but was it the bullet that caused it?”
Rachel Maddow: Is liking The Lord of the Rings racist?
Like her colleague Alex Wagner, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow also offered her own take on J.D. Vance, pointing out the senator’s interest in “Lord of the Rings” and his ties to the “far right.”
“‘The Lord of the Rings’ is kind of the favorite universe for a lot of far-right and alt-right figures, both in Europe and in the US, to name things and cultural references. Peter Thiel, for example, has named all these things after Tolkien characters with his company Palantir and so on,” Maddow said.
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“When Vance started his own venture capital firm with the backing of Peter Thiel, who was his mentor and gave him all the work in the world, he named it after the Lord of the Rings,” Maddow said. “He named it Naria, Naria. It’s easy to remember because it’s Aryan, but you move the n forward,” she continued.
Ian McKellan, seen here in a still from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, plays Gandalf opposite Elijah Wood’s Frodo. (Newline/WireImage/Getty Images)
“Apparently the word has something to do with elves and rings from the Lord of the Rings series, but I’m not sure.”
Nicolle Wallace: ‘Right-wing’ extremism is the real threat
At another point this week, MSNBC host Nicole Wallace He was clearly annoyed with the way Biden responded to a question from NBC’s Lester Holt about his “point-and-shoot” comments directed at President Trump.
“There was only one way to answer that question: ‘Lester, should I use the word bullseye or should I use the word crosshair? No, but Donald Trump’s chosen FBI director is named Christopher Wray, and he testified under oath before Congress and said that the greatest threat to this country is no longer foreign terrorism, it’s domestic violent extremism,'” Wallace said, growing exasperated.
“By far the biggest threat is right-wing domestic violent extremism. So talk to them,” she yelled, pointing.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace appeared upset while discussing President Biden’s NBC interview with Lester Holt. (MSNBC/Screenshot/Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The surprising comments come as the liberal network has found itself at the centre of other controversies this week.
According to a New York Times report, MSNBC was running its live coverage of the Republican convention in the background of its primetime programming rather than broadcasting the event live, and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Jen Psaki, Joy Reid and other MSNBC anchors were not even at the convention site, let alone in the city.
An MSNBC spokesman told The Times that “at the beginning of every broadcast, our hosts make clear whether they are in New York or at MSNBC headquarters,” but critics say live footage of the lively convention behind the hosts gives a different impression to viewers tuning in throughout the night.
Still, the move drew ridicule this week from CNN host Jake Tapper and others.
“We’re broadcasting live here, and the other networks just put up big LEDs, and I’ll keep their names secret,” Tapper said in an interview. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.
The network also drew backlash from its own anchors after it canceled “Morning Joe” on Monday in the wake of the assassination attempt on President Trump two days earlier.
Fox News’ Yael Haron contributed to this report.
