During an interview, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, refused to talk about the racist birtherism scandal that has plagued the president since his campaign announcement. It was enough for the Sunday MSNBC panel to roll their collective eyes in disgust.
"Does not being involved mean that you can't make a statement as to whether or not the idea of birtherism was a racist thing?" wondered host Kasie Hunt.
"I'm frankly really surprised Jared Kushner didn't come out and disavow birtherism. And to say it wasn't something he was involved in -- sure, he wasn't personally advancing birtherism, but he was helping run his father-in-law's campaign," said Washington Post reporter Phil Rucker, noting the 2015 campaign was founded on the birther conspiracy. "Remember it wasn't well into the 2016 campaign when President Trump, himself, admitted that Barack Obama was born here in the United States. So it's difficult for Kushner to really distance himself from birtherism. The fact that he can't say, 'birtherism is wrong, racist.' It shows the extent to which he is willing to cover up for the troubles of his father-in-law."
National Urban League President Marc Morial agreed, saying that for the Trumps "blood is thicker than water."
"I don't think he will criticize his father-in-law," he went on. "Birtherism was racist. It was hateful. It was despicable. But it was also intellectually dishonest. So it's important. People say, is a person a racist? I like to ask the question, was it a racist statement? Were the actions racist?"
Morial noted that to question the historic presidency in the way the right-wing did, was "really a political, cheap political move and that move was racist." But Kushner will never admit it.
Watch the full discussion below:
