MSNBC's Joe Scarborough was stunned by Donald Trump's meandering speech attacking Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling Hezbollah “very smart.”
The former president spoke for nearly two hours to 3,500 supporters at a West Palm Beach, Fla., convention center, where he claimed Barack Obama was secretly controlling the U.S. government and hit familiar topics like crime in Washington, D.C., where he has been indicted on 40 counts, and the violent attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband.
"If you want to know where the Republican Party is in 2023, the two leading candidates for speaker, well, neither one of them have said who won the 2020 election," Scarborough said. "This party, this is a party that is so lost right now and just wandering around aimlessly in right field."
Co-host Willie Geist agreed, saying the GOP's congressional leadership was expressing what used to be fringe views and were covering for a 2024 presidential frontrunner who has seemingly gone "off the rails."
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"We've gotten used to it the last couple years, but that is absolutely insane that they're still running defense, still running interference for Donald Trump, who is running for president again -- and, by the way, maybe we won't play it, but... truly, yesterday, an insane event," Geist said.
"Oh, we're going to show it," Scarborough interrupted.
"He was talking about Barack Obama is actually running the government, criticizing Bibi Netanyahu, saying – I want to make sure I get the quote right – that Hezbollah is, quote, 'very smart' – Hezbollah," Geist added. "That's the guy they're defending right now while the sitting president of the United States makes speeches in defense of Israel, unequivocal defenses, and looks like a president, frankly, while Donald Trump is truly, truly appearing to be off the rails and, frankly, insane."
"Out of his mind," Scarborough agreed. "I mean, praising Hezbollah, just like he praised Vladimir Putin, said he was brilliant after the invasion of Ukraine. All the praise that he's had for President Xi in China, always talking about what a brilliant man he is. Same thing, of course, with the tyrannical leader of North Korea – out of his mind, and again, the fact that Republicans are embracing this guy just is absolutely crazy."
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