MSNBC host buries Dem lawmaker for ignoring questions — right after guest leaves interview

An appearance by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) fell flat on MSNBC Wednesday as she stuck to talking points and failed to answer questions from "Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist.

Given an opportunity to paint a vision for voters that contrasts with Donald Trump's comments at a rally in Michigan on Tuesday night, Clark was asked, "We talk about Donald Trump a lot. We recognize that many of his policies are very unpopular, as new polling has shown, marking his first 100 days. But in a Washington Post/ABC News poll, Donald Trump's approval rating was at 37 percent –– extraordinarily low about handling the country's main problems. Democrats, though even farther down at 30 percent. How do you explain that number, and what do Democrats need to do better?"

Clark answered, in part, "What Democrats are doing is we are standing strong in saying come back and focus on the American people. Put them in the center of the work you are doing, make sure that you are doing everything you can to fight for them. And that's what we're doing. We'll reach across the aisle when we can but what we have been met with in the House GOP is absolute resistance. They are loyal to one person and that is Donald Trump."

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The "Morning Joe" co-host pressed, "With all that said, and understanding your opposition to Donald Trump, much of the public's opposition, my question was why do you believe Democrats are rating lower even than President Trump right now if everything you just said is true? "

"Well, you know, we are going to continue our focus," she countered, "Listen, we lost an election, We're very clear eyed about that and we know that we have to show the American people that we are in it for them but that is where we are. That is the roots of the Democratic party and that is what we're going to work, we're going to do every single day."

Following her interview Geist sat with co-host Jonathan Lemire and commented, "Respectfully, I'm not sure the locker room speech we just heard is going to fire up Democrats to get off the bench and go play hard. But I will say in defense, there have been people out there, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Sanders. We've heard [Illionis Gov. J.B.] Pritzker of late articulating a more aggressive message about where Donald Trump has fallen short, but also their vision for the future at the same."

"I'll tell you," MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle commented. "It was stunning listening to Congresswoman Clark fail to answer your question twice when in front of her is Social Security is a real issue. People in her district, how many of them are in her district who are having trouble getting connections to Social Security because an office might be closed, or they don't answer the phone?"

"Why more Democrats don't talk about actual human beings and the human being issues that surround them," he continued. "The most important room going forward in this coming election year next year is the kitchen. How much it has cost to feed a family of 4 or 5? Why don't they ever talk specifically about things like that instead of blah, blah, blah, blah?"

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