MSNBC went into spin mode for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, after the father of Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen was seated behind the Democrat at a rally in Florida. Stephanie Ruhle replied to the development by stating, "I don't know what I think, but it's definitely noteworthy." Thomas Robert remarked that it was "very interesting," and hyped that it was "certainly a reflection of the Clinton camp to respond so quickly about what that means." [video below] By contrast, CNN's John Berman underlined that "it's a very unusual; and perhaps, unsettling picture for people in the Orlando area."
Ruhle gave a brief during the 9 am Eastern hour of MSNBC Live:
STEPHANIE RUHLE: There's one more note from the campaign trail. I don't know what I think, but it's definitely noteworthy. At one of [Hillary] Clinton's rallies last night, there was an unexpected attendee. Orlando gunman Omar Mateen — his father, Seddique Mateen, spoke with our affiliate after the rally, saying she believes Hillary Clinton is better for the United States. Not sure what I think, but, as I said, noteworthy.
Over an hour later, Roberts turned to correspondent Kristen Welker for her reporting on the pro-Taliban Mateen's visible presence at the rally:
THOMAS ROBERTS: But the father of the Pulse nightclub shooter was seen at Clinton's campaign stop yesterday; and I know you have reaction from the Clinton camp to that.
KRISTEN WELKER: I do. Just a short time ago, we heard from the Clinton campaign about this, Thomas. And I'll read you the reaction that we are getting. One campaign official saying, quote, 'The rally was a 3,000-person open-door event for the public. This individual wasn't invited as a guest, and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event.'
Now, I attended that event, I can tell you that Secretary Clinton talked about the Orlando shooting — the extent to which she wants to try to prevent tragedies like that from happening again. And Omar Mateen's father was essentially sitting behind her. He was interviewed by some local TV stations — one asking him, 'What were you thinking when Secretary Clinton started talking about the Orlando shooting?' And he said, 'Look, we have been cooperating with investigators.' And then, he made the point that he has every right to be there, just like anyone else who lives here. But it is certainly getting a lot of attention here today, Thomas.
ROBERTS: Yeah — absolutely. And being right over her shoulder there — behind her on her left-hand side, visible; and also, again, being chased down by reporters to give comment about why he would attend. Very interesting — and certainly, a reflection of the Clinton camp to respond so quickly about what that means.
Berman brought up the controversy during a panel discussion on his program, At This Hour. He and co-anchor Kate Bolduan asked Democratic strategist Angela Rye and former Ted Cruz staffer Alice Stewart for their takes on the issue. Both reacted negatively to the Clinton campaign's handling of the matter:
JOHN BERMAN: Angela, while we have you, can we ask you about a strange chapter in this campaign that happened overnight? A lot of us didn't notice it yesterday; but....Hillary Clinton did an event; and sitting behind her on the stage — you can see it right there — that's the father of the Orlando shooter. He says he went to the event. He essentially says that — you know, he likes Hillary Clinton more than Donald Trump—
KATE BOLDUAN: He's a member of the Democratic Party; and that's what he said—
BERMAN: Yeah. You know, this — and you know, from being a political operative — as you know, people who sit behind the candidate are often placed there by the campaigns. I don't know if that happened here. I'd be shocked if it did happen here. But still, it's a very unusual; and perhaps, unsettling picture for people in the Orlando area.
ANGELA RYE, FMR. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: Yeah. I've never seen that. And just now — like, my stomach dropped when you said that. I would say that this is probably not good staff work on behalf of some of the team or volunteers with the campaign. They didn't know. A lot of times, they place people based on ensuring there's diverse representation; and they don't necessarily go and look up folks' backgrounds. It's not — you know, filling out a wave form to get into the White House. Well, unfortunately, this is a terrible mistake. And of course, the dad — the dad is not at fault, but — I mean, this is not what you want. This is the type of distraction you want to avoid at this point in an election.
BOLDUAN: And Alice, as someone who has been high up in — in campaigns — and you understand optics; and you know, kind of, how these — how these rallies are, kind of, setup. I mean, did someone screw up here?
ALICE STEWART, FORMER TED CRUZ COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: That is a major advance team failure right there — because when you set up an arena like this, there's often — you can have flags in the background. You can have a — a big tractor in the background — depending on what your message is. But when you have people setting your backdrop — as Angela said, you want to show diversity. You want to show all types of — men, women; young, old people. But for — for that man to get back there and get past the advanced team's carefully choreographed background is not a good sign.
It's certainly not his fault. It's certainly not Hillary's fault. But what it does — it brings to mind the tragedy in Orlando, and the tragic worst mass shooting we've had since 9/11 in this country. And it's something that they should not be talking about. So, the fact that that happened — I'm sure someone is — is sitting down right now and getting a tongue lashing, because that's something that — that should not happen in these kind of events.
