Sunday’s “powerhouse panel” on ABC This Week inadvertently showed the widening gulf between what is top-of-mind for the Acela Media versus what is on the minds of the actual American electorate. In particular, this exchange between host Jon Karl and former RNC chair Reince Priebus on the general election suitability of Donald Trump.
Watch as Priebus informs Karl, much to the panel’s dismay, that the electorate is angrier than they were in 2016.
JON KARL: I mean, Reince, I remember you as RNC chair kind of fighting so hard to get him to condemn David Duke when David Duke endorsed him. And I remember you in the White House trying to, you know, keep him within the guardrails. Do you worry that, you know, as he rushes towards this nomination, that he's going off those -- into those places you tried to keep him from going?
REINCE PRIEBUS: Um, not particularly because I think that -- I think you're all misreading the electorate. I think that the electorate is not looking for less blood. I think they're looking for more blood. I think that people are more angry about crime than they've ever been before. I think they're more angry about the border, the fentanyl, the sanctuary cities, the boys competing against girls in sports. School is out of control. I think- as I’ve said before, people are looking for a bigger middle finger this time than they were in 2016, and I think you’re…
KARL: So no matter how outrageous --
PRIEBUS: …you're misreading this. People are angry, and they-- and on the other side, you know, you've got President Biden who's losing young voters, who's losing black voters. The polling couldn't be worse, and unlike Barack Obama in 2011, Democrats would have walked over glass for Barack Obama. Democrats today, they say 75%, we wish we had a different candidate. So-- it matters who you're running against too, and it also matters what the state of the country is, and this is a perfect storm.
The media are still trying to run “Day One Dictator” as literal evidence of dictatorial designs by Donald Trump. Priebus stops that train dead in its tracks and moves on to a succinct but powerful summation of the things that are on the minds of the electorate beyond the Acela Media bubble. The electorate are, in fact, looking for a bigger middle finger in 2024 than they sought in 2016.
This exchange with Jon Karl led to a more hilarious exchange with former DNC Chair and Hillary Clinton debate question-leaker Donna Brazile, who at times seems to get stuck in party chair mode, which led to this rejoinder from Priebus on what Democrat voters are willing to go through fire for:
DONNA BRAZILE: But you know what we have to convince them? That this president, the president you say that Democrats will not walk on glass. Well, they'll go through fire to protect the Constitution.
PRIEBUS: We’ll see. We’ll see.
BRAZILE: They will go through fire to defend the American people.
PRIEBUS: We’ll see. They’ll go through fire to see if they can get someone else to run.
We’re about ten and a half months away from the election but the media are already indicating that they’ve learned nothing from 2016 and 2020, and will try to put their thumb on the scales yet again.
Click “expand” to view the transcript of the aforementioned panel segment as aired on ABC This Week on Sunday, December 17th, 2023:
JON KARL: And, Averi, Trump was in New Hampshire and he was quoting Vladimir Putin last night…
AVERI HARPER: Right. He definitely was.
KARL: …as an authoritative source on analyzing his legal cases.
HARPER: Right. He has really had this real intense flirtation with authoritarian leaders. He has spoken to and echoed back to lines that have to do with Hitler, right? And I want to pay attention to what he said. He spoke about migrants from South America. He spoke about migrants from Africa. He spoke about migrants from Asia. He did not speak about migrants or immigrants from Europe, right?
KARL: Right. “Poisoning the blood” was the phrase he used.
HARPER: Right.
KARL: Which is obviously an incredibly loaded phrase, like the “vermin” phrase- the word that he used.
HARPER: And this is- this is rhetoric that he continues to use on the trail. He has said this before, he’s probably going to say this again. It is something that is reminiscent of white nationalist language. And he is calling to dark parts of the Republican Party when he does this. And that's not something that folks are going to forget come general election time.
JON KARL: I mean, Reince, I remember you as RNC chair kind of fighting so hard to get him to condemn David Duke when David Duke endorsed him. And I remember you in the White House trying to, you know, keep him within the guardrails. Do you worry that, you know, as he rushes towards this nomination, that he's going off those -- into those places you tried to keep him from going?
REINCE PRIEBUS: Um, not particularly because I think that -- I think you're all misreading the electorate. I think that the electorate is not looking for less blood. I think they're looking for more blood. I think that people are more angry about crime than they've ever been before. I think they're more angry about the border, the fentanyl, the sanctuary cities, the boys competing against girls in sports. School is out of control. I think- as I’ve said before, people are looking for a bigger middle finger this time than they were in 2016, and I think you’re…
KARL: So no matter how outrageous --
PRIEBUS: …you're misreading this. People are angry, and they-- and on the other side, you know, you've got President Biden who's losing young voters, who's losing black voters. The polling couldn't be worse, and unlike Barack Obama in 2011, Democrats would have walked over glass for Barack Obama. Democrats today, they say 75%, we wish we had a different candidate. So-- it matters who you're running against too, and it also matters what the state of the country is, and this is a perfect storm.
DONNA BRAZILE: Mr. Chairman, let me just say this. You're talking about taking millions of people off their health care which is Donald Trump. He has pledged to do that. That's blood. That is blood.
PRIEBUS: Well, you’ve gotta make the case.
BRAZILE: You're talking about suspending the United States Constitution, something that Donald Trump has said. Yeah, look. I get the anger part. I get the -- I get the people who are frustrated with crime. I get the fact that the border needs more agents, needs more --
PRIEBUS: Democrats are suing the White House.
BRAZILE: …more technology, but you know what I don't get? I don't get the fact that you're willing to stand up for someone who's praising dictators as he did.
PRIEBUS: Listen. I'm not willing to stand up -- listen.
BRAZILE: Who's hungry to get back with Kim Jong-Un, okay?
PRIEBUS: What I’m doing here, Donna, is I'm telling you what the reality on the ground is.
BRAZILE: All right.
PRIEBUS: And there's 100,000 people in five states…
BRAZILE: I understand,
PRIEBUS: …that are going to decide this election.
BRAZILE: I'm just saying.
PRIEBUS: And if you can convince me that those 100,000 people are worried about Donald Trump suspending the Constitution, you know --
KARL: You know, even though he has said that on multiple occasions.
BRAZILE: Well…
PRIEBUS: You have to be able to convince people that are voting, that- that…
KARL: That he means what he says?
BRAZILE: But…
PRIEBUS: Well, then- if that's what your- if that’s what you case is, sure. But if you really think that --
BRAZILE: But you know what we have to convince them? That this president, the president you say that Democrats will not walk on glass. Well, they'll go through fire to protect the Constitution.
PRIEBUS: We’ll see. We’ll see.
BRAZILE: They will go through fire to defend the American people.
PRIEBUS: We’ll see. They’ll go through fire to see if they can get someone else to run.
BRAZILE: The flirtin’ of Black voters with Donald Trump is just that.
PRIEBUS: Well, then look at your own polls.
KARL: All right, let's go to Heidi. I like the chairman versus chair. This is good. Go ahead.
HEIDI PRZYBYLA: Reince is right that Trump is playing here. He's playing on emotions. He's convincing people that we are living in a state of American carnage, as he said when he first took office- that there is this risk of a dystopian United States of America where Judeo-Christian values and Christians are huddled, cold and hungry in a corner and persecuted, but it's an alternative America that Democrats say is based on misconceptions- is based on lies in some regards. There's absolutely a case here on numbers, on crime. You could have a debate about that, and how you define crime versus homicide, versus gun shootings. It's all how you slice it. They're also not being given information about why costs are higher and inflation and the fact that putting this in perspective overseas, the inflation here is relatively more modest. There's no context in this debate, and…
BRAZILE: It's all emotion.
PRZYBYLA: I'm agreeing with both of you, right? Here's what's happening.
KARL: And I think that there's something else that Reince has hit on that is clearly out there, and that is deep, deep Democratic discontent with Biden and fears about whether or not he is up to it.
HARPER: Right.
KARL: Not that he's not up to doing the job, but that he’s up to campaign against Donald Trump and that he can beat him.
HARPER: All right, there are concerns about whether Biden is going to be out on the trail. There are concerns about certain issues, whether he is going to be able to meet the moment. There are concerns about whether he's going to be able to turn out young voters, Black voters, right? When we talk about immigration, and the ongoing negotiations for supplemental funding, there are concerns that he could be perceived as siding with Republicans on this issue, something that would be an affront to what he promised back on the campaign trail in 2020- that he was going to transform the immigration system with humanity, and with a focus on American values. If he's seen as siding not only with Republicans but with the far-right Republicans on this issue, that could be damaging to his credibility as he goes out on the trail as well.
