This Sunday on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, a panel discussed the possibility of infidelity on Bill Clinton’s part and the impact that it could have on Hillary’s campaign. The chat revolved around the potential of a Joe Biden run in 2016 and what could turn that into a reality. MSNBC contributor Robert Traynham wondered what could derail the former secretary of state: “It could also be Benghazi...it could also be some Clinton email stuff. It also could be, perhaps, some infidelities in her marriage.”
After The Nation’s Michelle Goldberg suggested that infidelity in that marriage may be baked in, Harris-Perry lost it: “Okay, whoa. I’m sorry, we have to pause. Because I don’t know if we can just say that on TV. So let me just. Not that there may be infidelities, but just that we presume it to be baked in.”
After the MSNBC personality regained her composure, Goldberg restated her point: “I just mean that people have made peace with the fact that Bill Clinton might be having affairs, right? I mean, anybody who is going to be completely appalled by that and find that a deal breaker has already kind of turned their backs on the Clintons.”
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
MSNBC
Melissa Harris-Perry
August 2, 2015
STEVE KORNACKI: Number one is that Joe Biden at a personal level in 2009, 2010, and 2011 endured how many stories saying Hillary Clinton is about to replace him as vice president. Gonna kick him out of the job that he really wants. And so there might be a little of tweaking her here, a little bit of payback, a little bit of just putting this out there and toying with it. In terms of actually getting in the race, I think the scenariothat gets Joe Biden in the race – it’s gotta be a collapse on Hillary Clinton's part. It’s got to be something more than we've seen so far. If you play it out a few months, it could be this. Bernie Sanders wins Iowa, Bernie Sanders turns around and wins New Hampshire. She's lost the first two states. Now Democrats are looking and they’re saying, Hillary Clinton’s a goner –
MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY: But he can't wait that late, can he?
KORNACKI: That’s the thing. So it’d have to be something – some other revelation between now and Iowa, something like that.
HARRIS-PERRY: Right, because he’s gotta be in before Iowa.
ROBERT TRAYNHAM: It could also be Benghazi. She's going to testify before the House – I’m just saying.
HARRIS-PERRY: Michelle is like, I can’t believe you even said that word.
ROBERT TRAYNHAM: Well, she’s scheduled to testify this fall. It could also be some Clinton email stuff. It also could be, perhaps, some infidelities in her marriage. So, there’s some other things out there that I'm hearing from Democrats –
FARAI CHIDEYA: What?
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: Everybody – I think that's baked in, right?
TRAYNHAM: But the question is –
HARRIS-PERRY: Okay, whoa. I’m sorry, we have to pause. Because I don’t know if we can just say that on TV. So let me just. Not that there may be infidelities, but just that we presume it to be baked in.
GOLDBERG: I just mean that people have made peace with the fact that Bill Clinton might be having affairs, right? I mean, anybody who is going to be completely appalled by that and find that a deal breaker has already kind of turned their backs on the Clintons.
