'Straight up Jim Crow racism': Longtime GOP strategist calls out Republican Josh Hawley

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has been receiving a great deal of criticism after announcing he would join Donald Trump's push to have Republicans in Congress overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Yale historian and authoritarian expert Timothy Snyder noted the racial aspects of Hawley's actions.

"So, what Nr. Hawley is doing, and that is what is shameful about it for him, I think as a young man, as a white man, it's shameful to stand up there and endorse the claim that Black people voting is fraud," Snyder said. "But in addition to the moral shame of it, there is the political consequences. When you make claims like this, you're basically saying, 'The other side has cheated, and so we're going have to cheat the next time around.'"

Stuart Stevens, who has worked five presidential campaigns for Republicans, noted that what Hawley is doing is unprecedented.

"I worked on Bush 2004. Kerry conceded day after. There is zero comparison to 2004," Stevens explained.

"Over 80% of voters Trump and [Hawley] are trying to throw out are Black. This is straight up Jim Crow racism," he concluded.