On her 11 a.m. ET hour MSNBC show on Wednesday, host Tamron Hall claimed “the GOP is planning actively to challenge” Donald Trump’s candidacy “to get him out of the way of the nomination” and predicted doom for Republicans if Trump were to lose the nomination during a contested convention.
Radio host Michael Medved corrected her: “Well, it's not the GOP planning something, it's the voters....Donald Trump won 42% of the delegates last night. That means 58% of the delegates went to somebody else....If he comes to the convention with less than a majority, it means that in this primary season...the overwhelming majority of GOP voters will have voted, ‘No, we want somebody else.’”
Hall issued a stern warning that Trump’s “supporters who now feel empowered....will think of the people in the back room smoking and denying [him the nomination]. And there's the potential that all hell will break loose in Ohio. We know that.”
Liberal Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart feigned concern for the GOP if the party rejected Trump: “You know, the will of the people....They are angry at the establishment, they are angry at the Republican Party. And if they go to Cleveland, and in the Trump supporters' minds, try to take the nomination away from him, you know, I worry for the Republican Party if it does indeed come to that.”
Hall called him out: “I think there are some Republicans who will say, ‘Are you really worried, Jonathan Capehart?’ I mean, you’re an opinion writer.” Capehart professed: “No, actually, yes I am. As an American, I absolutely am.”
Medved denounced Trump: “What's making people angry is politicians who make promises they cannot keep, and they know they can't keep. That's Donald Trump. Nobody actually believes that Donald Trump is going to build a great big wall and get Mexico to pay for it....It's like selling snake oil.”
Hall countered: “So then why is he growing the party, Michael? Why are you – why is the GOP seeing record turnout around the country? Why do you look at the map and he's winning in the south, he’s winning in Massachusetts, is he not expanding the party?”
Medved replied:
Okay, he is not winning. There isn't a single state where he has won a majority of the votes. Most people are voting against him. And I know people who are coming out to GOP primaries to vote against Donald Trump because they believe that his direction for the country is wrong and it gets back to the snake oil.
Here is a full transcript of the March 2 segment:
11:45 AM ET
TAMRON HALL: While Donald Trump was the clear winner in last night's Super Tuesday contests, this morning, instead of his rivals on the ballots, many headlines are pointing to the Republican Party as the loser. Joining me now, syndicated radio host Michael Medved, and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart. Michael, it’s interesting, Nate Silver just tweeted out, “Listen, the huge difference between Donald Trump's victories and Hillary Clinton is that Hillary Clinton has 60% of the Democratic vote, Donald Trump has 34%.” And that is at the heart of why the GOP is planning actively to challenge him and to get him out of the way of the nomination.
MICHAEL MEDVED: Well, it's not the GOP planning something, it's the voters. And this is the key point, really it's all about delegates. Donald Trump won 42% of the delegates last night. That means 58% of the delegates went to somebody else. And it comes down to the convention. If he comes to the convention with less than a majority, it means that in this primary season, which has been basically yes or no on Donald Trump, the overwhelming majority of GOP voters will have voted, “No, we want somebody else.”
And what the convention is going to do, I hope, is that for the first time since 1948, which is a long time ago, we're going to have a convention that is open, not brokered. Not brokered, because again, there are no brokers who are arranging this in back rooms. There are certainly not smoke-filled rooms anyway because they're smoke free. But people who want to reflect the will of the people, which is, “Give us a nominee who can win,” namely someone not named Trump.
HALL: Jonathan, that was beautifully put by Michael, but we know that his [Trump’s] supporters who now feel empowered when they see the bottom of the screen, and those numbers raked up, they will think of the people in the back room smoking and denying. And there's the potential that all hell will break loose in Ohio. We know that.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Yeah, no, absolutely. You know, the will of the people, you try making that rational argument to the people who are supporting Donald Trump, who make it very clear to pollsters, to exit pollers, and in their votes, that they are mad as hell. They are angry. They are angry at the establishment, they are angry at the Republican Party. And if they go to Cleveland, and in the Trump supporters' minds, try to take the nomination away from him, you know, I worry for the Republican Party if it does indeed come to that.
HALL: I think there are some Republicans who will say, “Are you really worried, Jonathan Capehart?” I mean, you’re an opinion writer.
CAPEHART: No, actually, yes I am. As an American, I absolutely am.
MEDVED: Listen, what we –
HALL: Go ahead, Michael.
MEDVED: People talk about anger, what is it that is making people angry? What's making people angry is politicians who make promises they cannot keep, and they know they can't keep. That's Donald Trump. Nobody actually believes that Donald Trump is going to build a great big wall and get Mexico to pay for it. What's he going to insult the president of Mexico until he hands over $25 billion? The entire thing is ridiculous. It's like selling snake oil.
HALL: So then why is he growing the party, Michael? Why are you – why is the GOP seeing record turnout around the country? Why do you look at the map and he's winning in the south, he’s winning in Massachusetts, is he not expanding the party?
MEDVED: Okay, he is not winning. There isn't a single state where he has won a majority of the votes. Most people are voting against him. And I know people who are coming out to GOP primaries to vote against Donald Trump because they believe that his direction for the country is wrong and it gets back to the snake oil. I mean, it's like if you're angry because you bought some snake oil and it didn't work and you bought a gallon of it, you’re going to come back now and say, “I want a barrel of snake oil?” That's what he's doing. And by the way, it was what was wrong with Barack Obama. He promised things he could not deliver. We can't do that again.HALL: Jonathan, I hear you, go ahead.
CAPEHART: No, no, no, Tamron, the key thing here, in the upcoming contests, a lot of them are going to be closed primaries. That means only Republicans can vote in them. That's when we will see whether Michael's argument and the establishment's argument actually holds up. If the majority of registered Republicans will vote for someone other than Donald Trump.
HALL: And we'll see what happens in this next debate. As we’ve pointed out, ten debates in, and his rivals started to bring up questions regarding Donald Trump's business record. And when you look at – repeatedly when you talk to his supporters, that is something that they point to. That he will work it out because he's a successful businessman. And it seems he is bothered when that aspect of his resume is challenged. Thanks both for joining us. We'll see what happens.
MEDVED: You bet.
CAPEHART: Thanks, Tamron.
HALL: Thank you, gentlemen.
