The Thursday edition of MSNBC’s All In saw quite some rhetorical hyperventilating as host Chris Hayes and AM Joy host Joy Reid expressed grave concern that the Trump administration will use the FBI as their “political tool” against their enemies a la “lions eat[ing] Christians” at the Roman Coliseum.
“I mean, so there’s two things to me. The most worrisome, substantive — the thing worrying me is him calling the FBI, the Department of Justice’s press person, Sarah Isgur Flores, putting out a statement basically saying attaboy Anthony,” Hayes began while speaking to Reid.
He added without any sort of sarcasm that “we are in really bad territory when you are invoking the FBI as a political tool to investigate not just your enemies like Hillary Clinton, your rivalries within the White House” and “[t]hink of what that would mean for the rule of law in this country.”
Um, hello? What about the IRS until President Barack Obama? Try Google searching for why Lois Lerner is living a comfortable life in secrecy nowadays. Conservative groups were unfairly targeted by the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status and it occurred on Obama’s watch. Plain and simple.
Then again, the liberal media would like us to ignore that as the Obama presidency was supposedly scandal-free.
Anyway, Reid was onboard with this hysteria and not dismissing communication director Anthony Scaramucci’s lewd, profanity-laced tirade as an immature and unprofessional outburst: “I mean, I think the sad part of it is Donald Trump is only having fun being President when’s either destroying some norm of American life or something about the presidency or when he’s watching other people be cruel.”
Exhibiting the same disdain that she showed yours truly earlier this week, Reid suggested Trump is akin to someone watching Christians die inside the Roman Coliseum: “He’s sort of the — he’s the stadium, the Roman Coliseum stadium seat holder who just wants to see the lions eat Christians, you know, in that parlance, and that’s the only way he can be happy is to see them fight”
Earlier, frequent MSNBC primetime guest Charles Pierce joked that “constitutional democracies had a good run here in America” and “it’s done a lot of good, produced a lot of good music.”
“Maybe it’s time to switch over to Deadwood or something. We’ve got Al Swearingin running the White House communications shop all of a sudden. No, I mean, at least people like — well, Nixon had it on tape, which was kind of embarrassing. At least Lyndon used to do this privately when nobody was watching,” he added.
Here’s the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes on July 27:
MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes
July 27, 2017
8:53 p.m. EasternCHRIS HAYES: So, let’s put aside the profanity and the colorful language, which I like, is funny, and people that know me know that I’ve been known to engage in that. This — have you ever seen anything remotely like this?
CHARLIE PIERCE: Well, you know, Chris, constitutional democracies had a good run here in America. You know, it’s done a lot of good, produced a lot of good music. Maybe it’s time to switch over to Deadwood or something. We’ve got Al Swearingin running the White House communications shop all of a sudden. No, I mean, at least people like — well, Nixon had it on tape, which was kind of embarrassing.
HAYES: That’s true.
PIERCE: At least Lyndon used to do this privately when nobody was watching. No, this is extraordinary to me. The White House communications director, who has been on the job for about 11 minutes, is completely at war with the White House chief of staff who is apparently entirely friendless and the president seems to like this, which is I think the scariest thing of all.
HAYES: That part of it — I mean, so there’s two things to me. The most worrisome, substantive -- the thing worrying me is him calling the FBI, the Department of Justice’s press person, Sarah Isgur Flores, putting out a statement basically saying attaboy Anthony. I mean, we are in really bad territory when you are invoking the FBI as a political tool to investigate not just your enemies like Hillary Clinton, your rivalries within the White House. Think of what that would mean for the rule of law in this country.
JOY REID: Right and also the fact that Scaramucci should not even be having conversations with Jeff Sessions —
HAYES: Or the FBI.
REID: — or the FBI at all. He shouldn’t be talking to them at all. But I think it’s just one more way in which they’ve just exploded all of the norms. I mean, I think the sad part of it is Donald Trump is only having fun being President when’s either destroying some norm of American life or something about the presidency or when he’s watching other people be cruel. He’s sort of the — he’s the stadium, the Roman Coliseum stadium seat holder who just wants to see the lions eat Christians, you know, in that parlance, and that’s the only way he can be happy is to see them fight.
