Rachel Maddow went off on the White House on Monday in a way she rarely does, tearing into Donald Trump‘s shameful response to the passing of Arizona Sen. John McCain.
The MSNBC host was in disbelief over how the administration bungled what she called “the world’s simplest, basic governing task” of honoring an American hero.
“If you can do nothing else, if you can accomplish nothing constructive, be decent and don’t make it about yourself,” Maddow said. “But in this White House, just spectacular failure on both of those counts.”
Video:
#Maddow blasts Trump for screwing up “the world’s simplest, basic governing task” following the passing of John McCain. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/13YN9vT6LZ
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 28, 2018
Maddow said:
Even people who disagree with him vehemently on specific policy matters, or on aspects of his record in politics, even people who dislike a lot of what John McCain did as a public figure, as a politician, have found a very easy path to recognizing his extraordinary, extraordinary service. Except for the White House, which has turned itself into a sideshow of, forgive me, but just self-interested incompetence, petulant grandstanding, caving, reversals and ultimately, just shame on this. I’m sorry to use such strong language. I try not to do that in general about anything in the news. But I think it is unavoidable here given the debacle they made here out of what ought to be the world’s simplest, basic governing task when confronted with a sad moment like this. All you have to do at a moment like this with a genuine fully-minted American hero, all you have to do, if you can do nothing else, is just be decent and don’t make it about yourself. That’s all you have to do. If you can do nothing else, if you can accomplish nothing constructive, be decent and don’t make it about yourself. But in this White House, just spectacular failure on both of those counts. So I imagine the failure will continue on this front because it’s not like they have a real history of getting their ducks in a row when they fail like this, in such spectacular fashion. Especially with the condemnation they’re having from across the spectrum. But we will continue to watch them screw this up.
The anger to Trump’s disrespect has been bipartisan
While Rachel Maddow typically doesn’t use such pointed language in her broadcasts, she has clearly tapped into the same anger being felt by millions of Americans on both sides of the aisle over the past several days.
At a time like this, when a commander-in-chief spits on the heroic service of a veteran, it’s important that the backlash be swift and harsh. This isn’t the normal behavior of a president, and it shouldn’t be treated as such.
In the process of Trump‘s petulant disrespect of John McCain, he has insulted the service of millions of Americans who have made similar sacrifices for this country.
As Maddow said on Monday night: “Just shame.”
On the long list of unforgivable things this president has done, Trump‘s behavior over the past 48 hours most certainly ranks toward the top.
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