Biden Boasts About Voting Rights, But Scarborough Mocks Stacey Abrams Fleeing Him!

On Tuesday Good morning, Morning Joe Mika Brzezinski, cohost of the show, said “listen closely” while reading from an unpublished draft of President Biden’s claims in an Atlanta speech on voting rights. “I will never yield.” “I will not flinch,” and Biden stands for democracy instead of autocracy. He believes in light over shadow, justice above injustice, and that democracy is better than any form of dictatorship.

Winston Churchill, it’s time to move on — the liberals are fond of imagining that the Republicans look like Hitler. 

However, the White House press room moment was overshadowed by the announcement that Stacey Abrams – who is again running to be Georgia’s governor – has stated she won’t attend Biden’s speech because of a “scheduling conflicts”. Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist and Willie Geist jokingly speculated that Abrams’ scheduled appointment for a tune-up of the car and tire rotation might be keeping her from attending. Mika Brzezinski (a fervent Democrat who defends the indefensible for her party), repeatedly interrupted Scarborough to suggest that Abrams could have another reason.

MIKA: It is also worth noting that Stacey Abrams (one of the most prominent voting rights advocates in America and currently the Democratic candidate for Governor in Michigan) will not attend today due to a scheduling conflict. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH. Stacey Abrams has a scheduling event. So you understand that Stacey Abrams’ car will be getting a tuneup. It’s hard!

WILLIE GEIST – You won’t be able to get an appointment.

MIKA: Wait, you don’t really know.

SCARBOROUGH — Half of the mechanics at home are back. Although they’re not symptomatic, they don’t want to be —

MIKA: OK

SCARBOROUGH, She needs to have the car tuned-up.

WILLIE: To be precise, she’s having her tires rotated.

SCARBOROUGH : Also rotated. Also, she can be in both places at the same time. 

MIKA: OK, let’s not pass judgment. MIKA: We’re not passing judgement.

SCARBOROUGH – Stacey Abrams: This is a custom event for Stacey Abrams. Rev doesn’t wish to share the stage with Joe Biden, as she clearly does not want.

Al Sharpton wasn’t going to Mika’s extreme lengths in explaining Abrams’s evasion of Biden. Al allowed her to speak, even though he claimed he wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t want Biden on the stage.“I definitely would agree that there are elements for us to speculate.” 

Scarborough later clarified that he wasn’t criticizing Abrams. Rather, it is just “Politics 101” that politicians stay away from presidents whose approval numbers are averaging in the low 40s.

Biden is not content with boasting in idle about his toughness. There’s a darker and more troubling side to his comments. He promises to “defend the right of all to vote” and his democracy against all enemies foreign domestic.“So the man who claimed to be “uniter” implicitly accuses Republicans being Domestic enemies?

The Biden-as-Churchill moment on Morning Joe was sponsored in part by Publishers Clearing House, E*trade, and Lifelock.

You can find the transcription here.

MSNBC
Morning Joe
1/11/22
6:08 am ET

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Today, President Biden travels to Georgia—we’ll stay in Georgia [after discussing Georgia’s victory in the college football championship game last night]—to deliver what’s being billed as a major speech on voting rights. Biden will push publicly for the Senate to change its filibuster to allow voting rights to be passed. Biden had previously only advocated the reinstating of the talking filibuster.

This portion of President Obama’s speech was released by the White House. Please listen closely:

These bills will be up for a vote in the next few days. This is a pivotal moment for this country. We will choose democracy or not.
Is it autocracy? Wherever I stand, I’m aware. 

I won’t give up. I will not give in. I will fight for you and your democracy, against any enemies foreign or domestic. So the question becomes: “Wo will the United States institution stand?”

Notable is the fact that Stacey Abrams – one of America’s most well-known voter-rights supporters and the Democratic candidate in Georgia for governor – will be absent today because she has a conflict in her schedule. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH. Stacey Abrams has a scheduling event. So you understand that Stacey Abrams’ car will be getting a tuneup. It’s hard!

WILLIE GEIST – You won’t be able to get an appointment.

MIKA: Wait, you don’t really know.

SCARBOROUGH — Half of the mechanics at home are back. Although they’re not symptomatic, they don’t want to be —

MIKA: OK

SCARBOROUGH, She needs to have the car tuned-up.

WILLIE: To be precise, she’s having her tires rotated.

SCARBOROUGH : Also rotated. Also, she can be in both places at the same time. 

MIKA: OK, let’s not pass judgment. MIKA: We’re not passing judgement.

SCARBOROUGH – Stacey Abrams: This is a custom event for Stacey Abrams. Rev doesn’t wish to share the stage with Joe Biden, as she clearly does not want.

MIKA: Nooo.

AL SHARPTON

SCARBOROUGH: [smirking]Is it possible? Is it possible to identify?

AL SHARPTON – I would definitely say that the elements are there for you to speculate. 

MIKA: We’ll reserve judgement. Talk, it’s okay to not show up at events all the time.

SCARBOROUGH. I’m not attacking Stacey Abrams. This is a comment on Joe Biden’s political standing, made by a Georgia woman running for the governorship. When they are 52% in approval, politicians will show up to meet presidents. When their approval ratings are in the 30s, politicians don’t go to the presidents.

MIKA: There is another reason.

SCARBOROUGH : She’s having her tires rotated. Right now, in Covid, it’s kinda hard.

MIKA: [sighs loudly]

SCARBOROUGH, Mika: I’m not sure — I would probably say that about, like whatever. This is Politics 101.