All posts tagged "nicolle wallace"

January 6 investigator warns of another MAGA 'Big Lie' — this time involving Project 2025

Former investigator Timothy Heaphy, who served on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, is cautioning that the second "Big Lie" is already being crafted by Donald Trump and his allies.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said in a conversation with Heaphy on Monday that Jan. 6 and Charlottesville were horrible failures of law enforcement agents, who had ample intelligence ahead of the events.

"Some of the, sort of, conundrum seems to be that the First Amendment protects people's rights to say the most heinous and hideous things, and we have the leader of one of the two political parties hell-bent on exploiting that to lie and to sit at the intersection of lies that inspire action in some instances violence," Wallace said.

She pointed to people on the Georgia Election Board, who are willing to manipulate rules and laws to give Trump the edge in 2024.

"Nicolle, this harkens back to your previous segment about Project 2025," said Heaphy. "There's another lie that's a call to action just like January 6th. The lie that the election was stolen inspired people fueled by the former president's rhetoric to charge the Capitol. The lie with Project 2025 is that the federal government is filled with these deep state bureaucrats who are all pursuing some progressive agenda."

He called it "absolutely false" explaining that the everyday people are nothing more than "career bureaucrats who do their work day to day without regard to politics and that lie is being used to pursue a political agenda."

His upcoming book teaches the lesson that "Democracy is earned, not given," he said. It depends upon participation, people in this country paying attention to these issues, voting, talking to each other, educating themselves, and not being as susceptible to misinformation that often fuels these false narratives. It's up to us, Nicole, in order to protect democracy, and the past is prologue. We have to pay attention to what happened so it doesn't happen again."

See the comments in the video below or at the link here.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

'Too good to be true': Ex-senator says it's karma that Trump may get 'taken out' by Harris

Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is filled with glee as Vice President Kamala Harris takes on Donald Trump.

During the MSNBC show "Deadline White House" on Monday, host Nicolle Wallace called it "a phenomenon of a woman being underestimated." Meanwhile, Wallace talked about Harris' "political acumen" and "how much better she is than anyone expected."

McCaskill called the Harris smackdown of Trump the perfect example of "karma."

"I think it's a good reminder that sometimes what we see is so superficial, and this goes for a whole lot of people in elective office, the way people consume media now, the way people get information now, so much of it is, you know, as thick as a Tupperware container," the Missouri Democrat explained.

ALSO READ: Steve Bannon's big gambit now poised to sink Trump's 2024 campaign: analysis

She blamed the political elites with their "tsk-tsk" after her slow start as vice president for setting a low bar for Harris.

"What was forgotten is the battle she had fought and won thus far in her life, the obstacles she had overcome, her skill, her raw intelligence, and incredible work ethic," McCaskill continued. "So she is benefiting from being wildly underestimated by people that are Democrats, not by Republicans, not by MAGA people, but by the Democratic Party."

She also touted Harris' choice of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), who surprised voters just as much as she did.

McCaskill also touted the short campaign season. While Trump has been on the campaign trail for nearly two years, Harris has been campaigning for less than a month.

"I love it that she only has a short sprint instead of a marathon, and I love that she was so underestimated, and I love it the most — and you talk about karma — for Donald Trump to be taken out by this woman! Oh, my God, it's just too good to be true!" she laughed.

See the comments below or at the link here.

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Trump seems like he's 'telegraphing that he knows he's going to lose': MSNBC host Wallace

Former Republican communications staffer and current MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace has done her time on GOP campaigns and in George W. Bush's White House, but Donald Trump tends to leave her stumped.

Speaking to a panel of election experts Wednesday, Wallace said ongoing efforts to change election rules and certification laws contrast with Trump's desperation to appear strong. The reality, she said, is he's losing.

"I want to read what you wrote, but for Trump, who is so obsessed with the size of his wins and wearing a superhero shirt when he survives covid, it feels like this massive, sort of, telegraphing that he knows he's going to lose," she said to elections lawyer Marc Elias. "Just talk about the tactic and what it telegraphs."

Elias explained that Trump has never really won an election. In 2016, Elias said Trump only won because of the Electoral College. In 2018 he lost the House. In 2020 he lost the presidency and his anger toward Georgia Republicans led to them losing the Senate.

The latest move Elias has been fighting is the Georgia Election Board's attempt to change rules about election certification after the state Republican chair suggested it. On Tuesday, they pushed through the new rules.

See the full discussion below or at the link here.

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'That's mean to Elvis!' MSNBC panelists laugh at comment that Trump's in 'fat Elvis' phase

MSNBC panelists couldn't help but chuckle Monday afternoon after The Bulwark's Charlie Sykes identified former President Donald Trump as being in the "fat Elvis stage of his career."

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) praised Sykes's comment on Monday morning, which started the network off.

"I've got to give a shout-out to my friend Charlie Sykes," McCaskill said at the top of Nicolle Wallace's show. "I spit coffee over the weekend when I saw how he referred to Trump, that Trump is in the fat Elvis stage of his career."

"I feel like that's mean to Elvis!" shouted Wallace.

"I mean, I love that. I love that," McCaskill continued. "And, by the way, fat Elvis is worried, and so is the weirdo he picked as his running mate."

McCaskill pointed out that the Democratic field "is pretty damn good," and Vice President Kamala Harris doesn't have any bad choices.

Sykes explained that the rally over the weekend was revealing.

"We can talk about, you know, what his strategy was and what he intended to do, but I also think, you know, the other thing was the complete lack of impulse control," explained Sykes Monday morning. "You know, as Mike Barnicle says, this is a deeply damaged man who is really sort of, you know, once again in the fat Elvis stage of his career. I thought it was very revealing that ... he's going back to when he came down the golden elevator back in 2015."

Sykes was referencing the initial Trump announcement when he returned to his conspiracy that Barack Obama was not a real citizen.

"This man is relitigating his original playbook because that's what he's got. I think that's what my takeaway from all of this was. He keeps going back to things that he thinks work," said Sykes about Trump turning birtherism into anti-Harris racism.

On Monday afternoon, Sykes explained that one of the more interesting things unfolding in the GOP is that it has been "purging its bench." He noted there have been many good candidates over the years but that they've been shoved out after clashing with Trump.

See the comments in the video below or at the link here.

Commentators giggle at Trump as "Fat Elvis"youtu.be

‘No evidence': MSNBC host pans Vance rant that Dems ‘brainwash children'

New audio has surfaced of J.D. Vance accusing childless Democrats of trying to “brainwash children,” and MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace is having none of it.

Vance “has spent the last few years saying some of the weirdest most offensive and off-putting things,” Wallace said during her Friday afternoon broadcast, including derogatory comments attacking Democratic leadership as “a bunch of childless cat ladies.”

In a newly resurfaced comment from a 2021 Breitbart radio interview, Vance went on a rant accusing Democratic leaders without biological offspring of trying to brainwash children.

“So many of their next generation leaders – you know, the Corey Bookers, the Kamala Harrises – they don't have kids, and so there's this weird way where they want to take our kids and brainwash them so that their ideas continue to exist,” Vance said. “Parents get to raise their children, families get to raise their children, not the state, not the leaders of the left. If you want to brainwash children: have your own kids to brainwash. Leave your hands off mine.”

As the audio cut off, Wallace barely missed a beat.

“There no evidence any of that is true,” Wallace quipped.

She then laid into the defense Vance made in an interview with Megyn Kelly – that his comments were sarcastic and taken out of context – as his “seeming commitment to keep digging in his repeated attacks on the women of this country.”

“You know, not working,” Wallace said. “The idea that people who haven't had children don't have rewarding lives is still offensive to everyone, even those of us who don't have kids.”

The backlash to Vance has been a boon to Harris’ campaign, as Democratic women raised more than $1 million dollars in a record-breaking Zoom fundraiser that amassed more than 136,000 participants.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

'Making him squirm': Expert pours cold water on 'desperate' Mike Johnson's new challenge

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is making a "desperate" move with his recent comment that Vice President Kamala Harris can't get on the ballot in all 50 states, one election expert said.

Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Friday, election lawyer Marc Elias of Democracy Docket addressed Jake Tapper's CNN interview with Johnson on Monday, in which Johnson invented a conspiracy about the ballot.

"Johnson said both before and after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday that there are legal 'impediments' in some states to a party switching presidential candidates as the Democrats did," CNN reported.

Johnson even touted his constitutional lawyer expertise when spinning the ABC News conspiracy.

"It would be wrong and I think unlawful in accordance to some of these state rules for a handful of people to go in the backroom and switch it out because they’re – they don’t like the candidate any longer," Johnson said.

CNN investigated by calling election officials in 48 of 50 states who told them it wasn't true.

Wallace couldn't understand why Johnson would make such a claim.

Elias, the expert on election law, gave a more frank reply.

"I think they're desperate," Elias said. "They planned an entire campaign to run against Joe Biden."

He described "victory laps" by top Trump campaign staff assuming they were going to win after the first debate. They even bragged to The Atlantic that they'd "win in a landslide."

"All of a sudden, instead of Joe Biden, they have Kamala Harris," he said.

"We are lucky to have her now and the RNC is scared of her. Donald Trump is terrified of her," he said, noting the ex-president is already "backing out of debates."

"And it is a joy to watch Mike Johnson squirm as he realizes his days in the speaker's chair are numbered," he said.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace puzzled over J.D. Vance's nodding at Trump’s word salad

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace can't understand what is happening with J.D. Vance and Donald Trump.

Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's short-lived communications director, and "All In Together" co-founder Lauren Leader discussed the bizarre relationship between the GOP team.

Wallace showed a clip of Trump and Vance in an interview with Fox where Trump goes off on a tangent about wind energy, of which his disdain is well documented. At one point, he alleged that windmills killed whales, but in a recent interview, he explained: "They want wind. The wind is blowing today. The whole thing is the most expensive hoax in the world. The wind. It kills our birds."

During the comments, Vance nodded along with enthusiasm.

"I'll ask you to explain the head nodding as our resident J.D. Vance expert. Why is he nodding? Anyone alive can understand that this was an idiotic, garbled sentence. Why is J.D. Vance nodding?" Wallace asked.

Scaramucci said he didn't want to be Vance's "life coach."

Instead, he said, "I'm watching this implode gloriously. I've got to tell you something, it's absolutely horrific. Go back to the tape, Nicolle. Take five minutes of your day and look at [Vance's] acceptance speech and look at Trump. It looked like he was eating a garbage sandwich in his mouth. I'm using a — we're on the air."

Scaramucci explained he didn't want to use profanity.

"Trump cannot stand this guy! I'm telling you right now, he's lighting up his staff. He's saying, 'I almost got killed by an assassin's bullet. You pushed this guy on me. He's dull and boring. Trump is a casting director. Vance is not helping here."

The "dirty secret" too, he continued, is "Vance thinks he's smarter than Trump. Trump hates that. Vance thinks this is his 2028 presidential tour. Donald Trump fires people who get more attention than him. Trust me, I know that. He fires people that get more attention."

See the full discussion below or at the link here.

Nicolle Wallace puzzled why J.D. Vance keeps nodding at Trump’s word-saladyoutu.be

'Anyone ever see Trump laugh?' Analyst says those who don't laugh 'probably sociopaths'

One of the attacks Republicans have deployed against Kamala Harris is making fun of her laugh, a similar tactic used against Hillary Clinton, who was described in 2016 as "cackling," a sound a witch would make.

Republican Party social media accounts posted a video of Harris chuckling with the caption, "Kamala Harris brought her cackle to Milwaukee: 'Good afternoon, Wisconsin! Ha ha ha ha!'"

The comment earned jeers in the comment section.

"You are frightened by the emotion of joy?" asked someone in the comments.

The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing a senior Republican involved in the Trump campaign, that there will be "attacks on her laugh and her tendency to say awkward things."

“We are going to cut up so many clips,” the person promised.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace played a clip of Harris speaking to Drew Barrymore's show about her laughter being the same as her late mother's.

Barrymore put her hand to her heart, sighing, "Aww."

Harris says in the clip that she remembers growing up with women sitting around tables drinking coffee and laughing and doesn't want to stigmatize children, especially, away from expressing their laughter.

Memes have spread online saying, "Make America Laugh Again," a play on Trump's long-time MAGA slogan. Etsy has exploded with merchandise from hats to t-shirts featuring the slogan.

Writer and longtime political analyst John Heileman pointed to the attacks on a "cackling Clinton" as well as the obvious sexism.

"Anybody heard Donald Trump laugh? Laughter in life is — this is an odd political point — but laughter is infectious," said Heileman. "When you see someone laugh, if they break character on SNL, you catch the bug. You start to laugh along with them. It's one of the important signs of humanity. And I think anybody who you've never seen laugh is probably a sociopath."

"So, having said that, I just want to come back to pull these two threads together and talk about efficacy to talk about why this DEI argument is a bad argument from the political standpoint," he pivoted to talk about Republicans claiming Harris only got where she is because she was a Black woman.

He explained that about 7 percent of Americans will determine the election, many of whom are people of color and young people whose enthusiasm Democrats will count on.

"But this argument that they are making, which is why her framing of future versus past, this argument is an old argument. It sounds old to young people. And it reminds people of color, whether they are brown skin or black skin or whatever, that of all things that Maya is saying, what's embedded in that is this notion that they want to take you back. And the argument sounds archaic. It doesn't sound like 2024 in America," he said.

He said attacking her this way is "reminding people how out of step they are with modern America."

See the video below or at the link here.

'Anyone ever see Trump laugh': Analyst says those who don't laugh 'probably sociopaths'www.youtube.com

MSNBC host pleads with Republicans to continue insulting Kamala Harris as 'DEI hire'

Current House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) begged their party to stop attacking Vice President Kamala Harris's race and gender because it is hurting them.

But on Wednesday, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace sarcastically begged the GOP to continue promoting her as a "DEI hire," a pseudonym — which many have blasted as racist — insinuating she's an unqualified Black woman hired over other qualified candidates. Wallace spent years in Republican politics and served in George W. Bush's White House.

She played clips of Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) attacking Harris as "unqualified." She also had clips of Fox hosts quoting the catchphrase "DEI hire," including former Donald Trump official Larry Kudlow struggling to recall what the acronym stood for.

"Maybe we should tell them it's working. Keep saying that stuff, guys," Wallace said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She explained that the comments reflect horrifically on the Republican Party.

"Leadership has reportedly begged Republican members behind closed doors to stop the racist attacks," Wallace reported. "It's more than petty, though, isn't it? You know it is."

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois called it "a disgusting dog whistle," then corrected himself and said, "It's an outright whistle."

"The GOP stoking racism in America is the defacto Democratic nominee focuses on the future and what is possible," Wallace said after playing a clip of Harris speaking in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Former assistant U.S. Attorney Maya Wiley linked the "DEI attacks" to "Project 2025," the far-right instruction manual from the Heritage Foundation for Trump's second term.

Wiley explained that the plan seeks to go after all civil rights protection laws and walk back the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The attacks on Harris are "overt racism and sexism," Wiley continued. "It's sexist and racist to say that by virtue of the fact she's a woman and a woman of color, she's not qualified. That's all they are saying."

She said it's the same as the "blueprint" in "Project 2025" to kill the Department of Education. It will also "undermine the ability of the federal government to assert and force and protect us from employment discrimination."

Longtime writer and analyst John Heilemann harkened back to the 1980s, recalling the Willie Horton commercial that George H.W. Bush ran in his 1988 campaign. The ad featured the mugshot of a prisoner on furlough who then killed someone else. The photo played up the scary Black man trope that Americans should fear would come after them and their children.

"This isn't 1988 anymore," Heilemann said. "We are not in Willie Horton 1988 anymore. It's not 1998 anymore. It's 2024."

See the conversation with the panelists below or at the link here.

Nicolle Wallace pleads with Republicans to continue insulting Kamala Harris as 'DEI hire'youtu.be

Conservative mocks GOP for 'sleepy Joe' campaign that makes Trump look old

As Donald Trump fumbles through the new field of the 2024 presidential race, his past attacks are returning to haunt him.

Conservative Charlie Sykes, editor of The Bulwark, told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace that the Republican Party's big mistake is going all-in on an attack against President Joe Biden's age and alleging a cognitive decline.

Sykes said that when Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention last week, he was likely at the highest point in his political career.

"Now, think about how the world has changed," he said. "Everything about this race has changed. For the last month, almost all of the discussion has been about the frailty of Joe Biden, and the cognitive health of Joe Biden. And Republicans have spent a tremendous amount of effort making the age and cognitive health of the ticket just absolutely central. You know, it's at the top of the mind for the American people. And now here we are."

Sykes said that he's not sure how it will ultimately shake out "because he was planning to run against 'Sleepy Joe Biden,' who did not campaign frequently, who was not vigorous, who was not prosecuting that case. And look what's happening right now."

Ultimately, Trump will always default to being Trump, he explained.

"For the last eight years, he used invective and personal attacks against his opponents. He firmly believes that that sort of cruel rhetoric works for him and helps him."

He predicted "a tsunami of negativity" from Trump that Kamala Harris would face, but he's not certain how the American people will respond to the "cruel rhetoric he believes helps him."

The test will be whether people will like it.

Wallace pushed back, saying it won't be about how Americans respond, but how the media responds. She predicted "overt racist attacks" and "macro-aggressions."

"And I think the answer to all of them is: 'Is America really ready to elect its oldest president? Are they really ready to elect a convicted felon?'" Wallace asked.

Sykes said that while the media was narrowly focused on the Democratic circular firing squad, Trump was making "speeches filled with absolute gibberish, and he convinced people that maybe that was normal."

The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum noted that during his Republican convention speech, even Trump seemed like he was boring himself.

"It's clear what he was — what he was told to do, which is play on the moment of unity, speak to the whole nation, talk about what a miracle it was that he wasn't killed," Applebaum said. "And you could see how that would have been or should have been something that was moving to a lot of people, including people who don't support him, people who aren't Republicans. As I said, he couldn't stick to the is the script."

"He is unable to be anything except very divisive," she said. "And even that moment that moved a lot of other people and made many people feel shocked and frightened and desirous of a calmer kind of politics — it didn't move him."

Wallace pointed out her statement, "It didn't move him," and agreed that it "might be the best way to understand that horrific moment."

See the full discussion below or at the link here.

Conservative mocks GOP for 'sleepy Joe' campaign that makes Trump look oldyoutu.be