President Donald Trump was challenged to show his face in New York City on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks after he delivered an ugly attack on Wednesday.
MS NOW’s “Morning Joe" aired a clip of Trump using an expletive to smear Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, leading co-host Jonathan Lemire to call the speech “obscene.”
“This guy hates Jews," Trump said in a Las Vegas casino on Wednesday. "He hates Jews and hates Israel.”
That was only the beginning.
“He’s a man of hate, and now he’s going around saying, ‘Oh I love everybody,’" Trump said. "He doesn’t love everybody. Put him in office, and you’re going to find out what he loves.”
Trump then made a comparison that stunned his listeners.
“These people are dangerous, and frankly, they are lunatics," Trump said. "They're crazy, and we can't let them get into office. Communism is the greatest threat to our country in its history, including even World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, 9/11."
Trump then said “Abdul, he’s full of s‑‑‑.”
Co-host Willie Geist said he was shocked, even though Trump also lashed out at NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani on similar grounds.
“Saying their election is the worst thing to happen to this country ever, including World War II, Pearl Harbor and 9/11 -- just pause," he said. "[The] president of the United States said the election of a candidate to be the nominee in Michigan is worse than 9/11.”
Lemire chimed in with criticism.
“It's obscene, it's obscene, and it's inaccurate," he said. "And of course, we're about to have the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, which will be a tough day for a lot of people, especially here in New York City.”
MS NOW contributor Mike Barnicle looked directly at the camera and fumed.
“Mr. President, if you're listening this morning, I dare you to come to New York City on Sept. 11th, which is coming up and repeat what you just said here in Manhattan," he said. "You'll realize that you were wrong.”