Morning Joe: Don’t Applaud Pro-Vax Trump—It’s Just An Election Ploy

This one can be filed under Damned If You Do and Damned If You don’t.

Morning Joe was in no mood after the Christmas weekend to give Donald Trump any credit for his vigorous advocacy of the COVID vaccine during an interview with Candace Owens, something that earned him the scorn of Alex Jones, who is now categorizing him as one of the most evil men ever.

It was a plot to get the suburbs back. Jonathan Lemire, Al Sharpton and Joe Scarborough all made that exact same noise.

Scarborough: Donald Trump clearly understands the steps he must take to return to the White House. If you’ve lost the suburbs, and Republicans have outperformed you, other Republican candidates have outperformed you across America because you lost the suburbs, because you were embracing the people like the two people who were attacking him right there, you move away from them, and you let them insult you, so people in the Atlanta suburbs, people in the Philly suburbs, people in all of these suburbs that abandoned him while still voting for other Republicans, they take note of that and go, wait a second, well maybe Donald Trump’s not that crazy.” 

Sharpton: “Absolutely. No question about it. Donald Trump knows that he cannot scare those in the suburbs, that’s what this was all about . . . All of this is politically calculated.”

Lemire: He deserves our respect. . . It is calculated, and it looks ahead to 2024.

MSNBC was able to offer a morning voice that is unlike anything else. Joe Biden went from moderately pro-abortion into a strongly pro-abortion politician, now opposing the Hyde Amendment. Completely a deeply-rooted, sincere and profound change of heart. Not the slightest political calculation in it!

Morning Joe dismissing Donald Trump’s vaccine advocacy as an election ploy for winning back the suburbs in 2024 was sponsored in part by Kayak and Amazon.

You can find the transcription here.

MSNBC
Morning Joe
12/27/21
6:15 am ET

MIKA BRZEZINSKI : Trump’s former President, he once more defended the coronavirus vaccines despite its negative reputation from his most ardent fans. Candace Owens was Trump’s right-wing commentaryator. In an interview, Trump praises vaccines while denying the skeptical views of his supporters.

CANDACE OWNENS: This year, more people died from Covid than you. And when people took the vaccine this year, so people are questioning how–-

DONALD TRUMP: Vaccines are effective, but not all people take them. The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. They can choose to take the vaccine. You’re also protected if the vaccine is taken. 

. . . 

JOE SCARBOROUGH. The interviewer later claimed that he was out of touch, old, and so on. For actually following the facts. Conspiracy theorists call Sandy Hook gunman the “conspiracy theorist”. He tortured and mental abused Sandy Hook parents, who were then murdered, and called them phonies. Here he is, in Christmas Day messages.

ALEX JONES: A Christmas Day emergency warning for President Trump Or you’re either ignorant or evil about Operation Warp Speed and the vaccine gene therapy. 

. . . 

SCARBOROUGH: Donald Trump is clearly aware of what he has to do in order to return to the White House. If you’ve lost the suburbs, and Republicans have outperformed you, other Republican candidates have outperformed you across America because you lost the suburbs, because you were embracing the people like the two people who were attacking him right there, you move away from them, and you let them insult you, so people in the Atlanta suburbs, people in the Philly suburbs, people in all of these suburbs that abandoned him while still voting for other Republicans, they take note of that and go, wait a second, well maybe Donald Trump’s not that crazy. 

AL SHARPTON (Yes). No question about it. Donald Trump is aware that it’s impossible to scare people in suburbia.He can’t scare independent voters. It is impossible for him to scare the women voters. It also includes that’s what this was all about. Let’s not forget, while I certainly was glad to see him say this, and said it was like a Christmas gift. Well, let’s not forget this is the guy when he was in the White House talking about people taking bleach and denying this all the way up until this . . . Donald Trump is going to kick the fringes. Donald Trump holds nothing sacred. . . Also All of this is politically motivated. 

. . . 

JONATHAN LEMIRE: So yes,We shouldn’t be too generous with him, even though it is a positive development. . . These numbers are calculated and look ahead to 2024.