Search

Home > Morning Joe > Me, Myself, and Lies: President Trump Doubles Down on "Nationalist" Identity; GOP Candidates Follow Suit with Bombastic Rhetoric


	Podcast:		Morning Joe
	Episode:		Me, Myself, and Lies: President Trump Doubles Down on "Nationalist" Identity; GOP Candidates Follow Suit with Bombastic Rhetoric
	Category:		News & Politics
	Duration:		01:29:56
	Publish Date:		2018-10-24 07:20:01
	Description:		President Donald Trump is facing sustained criticism, this morning, for his defense and embrace of labeling himself as a "nationalist" at a recent rally, earlier this week, in Houston. At a meeting with reporters in the Oval Office, yesterday, the president, when questioned about his use of the term, denied any prior knowledge of the racist connotations the label can hold. Still, as members of our panel, this morning, can attest, President Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he utilized the term, and described himself as being "old-fashioned" -- all while in front of a crowd of supporters in Texas. The red-line rhetoric employed by the president is part of a greater effort put into action by Republicans to stoke a sense of fear in their supporters, to get them to show up on election day, which is less than two weeks away. Senator Ted Cruz invoked and supported the tried-and-true "Lock Her Up!" mantra while hosting a rally, last night in Georgetown, Texas, albeit in response to an audience member yelling out "Lock him up!" directed at Cruz's Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke. Cruz jested, "Well, you know, there's a double-occupancy cell with Hillary Clinton." And, Georgia's Republican nominee for Governor, Brian Kemp -- who is also the state's Secretary of State -- is under fire for a newly-released audio tape wherein he expresses his concern for his chances of winning the election if "everybody uses and exercises their right to vote." Kemp, the state's chief election official by title, has been recently accused of voter suppression -- 53,000 voter applications, 70% of which are from African-Americans, have been on hold at his office for verification purposes -- and has publicly announced that he will not recuse himself from overseeing a recount, if the result with Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams is too close to call. That scenario may very well play out, as recent polling shows Abrams and Kemp all tied up at 48%, each. Also, this morning, new political ads released by a plethora of Republican candidates across the country are boasting support for forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. The problem is, most vehemently opposed that clause in Obamacare and actively sought, multiple times, to repeal the law. Joe takes the candidates to task, later in the episode. MSNBC's National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki also joins us, this morning, to break down each of the country's key races, including in Georgia, and how the numbers may fluctuate in these last 13 days before the 6th of November. It's Wednesday, October 24th, 2018. Welcome to Morning Joe.
	Total Play:		0