On Wednesday’s edition on Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect, co-host Mark Halperin admitted what many on the left probably wouldn’t dare to. He admitted that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s comments about Donald Trump have not been as controversial as they should be because she’s a liberal. “If a Republican justice did that to a Democratic candidate, I think, the world explode,” Halperin exclaimed to co-host John Heilemann.
Halperin’s exclamation came in response to his co-host who described Ginsburg’s comments as “unusual” and “probably inappropriate.” Halperin had plenty to say about Notorious RBG’s disparaging Trump comments. “NO! Definitely inappropriate. Repudiated by some Democrats. In this partisan period that’s extraordinary,” he said, speaking over Heilemann.
There is evidence to support Halperin’s assertion about the lack of explosiveness to the issue. During Tuesday evening’s broadcast both ABC and CBS ignored the ethical issues of the comments, with only NBC saying they were a question of ethics.
Heilemann agreed but had his own question to raise, “The question is whether Donald Trump gets much benefit out of attacking Ginsburg in the way he is attacking her.” He argued that Trump could combat her in a better way that would get, “everyone in the world who is not hopelessly partisan would say, “You know what? Trump has a point there.””
Halperin thought differently saying, “I think it’s good for Trump to even to do it this way … Again, probably not appealing to that many people in the center, but he does have some people on the left criticizing Ginsburg. And I think that helps his cause no matter how he takes it up.”
Transcript below:
Bloomberg
With All Due Respect
July 13, 2016
5:18:00 PM EasternMARK HALPERIN: Alright. Now to that spat on going between Donald Trump and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It continues to gain steam. It is been a few days since Justice Ginsburg told the Associated Press, and later The New York Times, that she didn't want to think about the possibility of Trump in the White House. Talked about maybe moving overseas. On Monday, she told CNN legal analyst Joan Biskupic that Donald Trump was, quote, “a faker” and called him out for not releasing his tax returns.
Trump, like many Republicans including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, called those comments inappropriate. But only the Republican front-runner went as far as to send a midnight tweet about this matter saying quote, “Justice Ginsburg of the US Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot. Resign!”
John is it a good idea for Trump to picks this fight with the Notorious RBG?
JOHN HEILEMANN: Well I think, look, we can probably agree— I don’t know if we actually agree but I think we might— that it was really unusual for Justice Ginsburg to do what she did. And I think probably inappropriate…
HALPERIN: NO! Definitely inappropriate. Repudiated by some Democrats. In this partisan period that’s extraordinary.
HEILEMANN: Yeah. Yeah.
HALPERIN: And if a Republican— If a Republican justice did that to a Democratic candidate, I think, the world explode.
HEILEMANN: If you let me finish— Yeah if you let me finish I was going to say exactly same thing as you were. So we’re on the same page about that.
The question is whether Donald Trump gets much benefit out of attacking Ginsburg in the way he is attacking her. Again it’s one of these thing were, I think Donald Trump in a sober way were to call attention and say what you just said, and I just said, everyone in the world— not everyone in the world— everyone in the world who is not hopelessly partisan would say, “You know what? Trump has a point there.”
But then to say that Ginsberg is lost her mind. That I think is a little bit—It’s like kids fighting on a school yard. And it kind of plays into the notion that Trump's temperament maybe not be that great. Again he can do— He can make the same point without having to attack her personally.
HALPERIN: If you’re from the school of thought that says, “a lot of what this election is going to be about is using the court to energize your base.” I think it’s good for Trump to even to do it this way. He just wants to personalize the notion that the liberals on the Supreme Court need to be replaced by conservatives. And this is going to get attention. Both sides try to make the court an issue. It’s very hard to do. This allows him to glob on it. Again, probably not appealing to that many people in the center, but he does have some people on the left criticizing Ginsburg. And I think that helps his cause no matter how he takes it up.
