How many times do you shout at the TV, 'just answer the question!' Thankfully, there's someone at MSNBC who is doing EXACTLY that. Joy Ann Reid, filling in for Chris Hayes on "All In," interviewed Trump defender/apologist Steve Cortes about the recent decision to hire Breitbart News Executive Stephen Bannon as the co-head of his campaign.
Steve Cortes wants everyone to think that Breitbart News is just a stronger, healthier Fox. You know, a "legitimate" news source that takes conservatism "seriously," rather than an alt-right racist sewer that will make fans of those bigots already firmly in the Trump camp.
Whether or not you are offended by the bigotry of Breitbart (as every sane person is), the move to "solidify support" by hiring from there makes no political sense.
Joy Reid: Hold on Steve, let me get my question back in there again, because you didn’t answer my initial question. Because my question to you is who is this designed to resonate with, who is not already a Donald Trump supporter? In the primary he was running for Republican support. This was not a general election.
Steve Cortes: Right.
Joy Reid: I want to read you headlines from Breitbart.com, which you’ve tried to paint as sort of a take on all-comers website: “Phony fascist tears: Obama cries during gun control speech”, “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy”, “Trannies whine about hilarious Bruce Jenner Billboard”, and “Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler renegade Jew”.
I want to now give you another new set of information. This is the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks hate groups. They track White supremacist movements, and they track the Alt-Right, which is a sort of the dressed-up-in-suits version of the Neo-Nazis and White supremacist movements in the U.S.—Headline, is Breitbart.com becoming a media arm for the Alt-Right? The outlet has undergone a noticeable shift toward embracing ideas on the extremist fringe of the conservative Right; racist ideas, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant ideas—all key tenets making up an emerging racist ideology known as the Alt-Right. So I’m going to ask you that question again.
Steve Cortes: O.K.
Joy Reid: Having a guy who runs that website that’s got headlines about Trannies, renegade Jew—quote unquote Bill Kristol—birth control makes women unattractive and crazy and which is now an arm of the Alt-Right—and you and I just discussed what the Alt-Right is. How is embracing the guy who runs that—who is that designed to add to Donald Trump’s support base?
Cortes tries to change the subject, but Reid is having none of it. He then tries the old (not making this up) "Liberal Media" canard. With Joy Reid! Really!
Joy Reid: Who is a Breitbart.com-run-campaign meant to appeal to, who is not already a Republican supporter?
Steve Cortes: Every four years the Liberal media will proclaim that the Republican nominee, no matter who it is—
Joy Reid: Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve—
Steve Cortes: And that is —
Joy Reid: Wait a second, Steve, we’ve not had a candidate for president who has embraced an entity such as Breitbart, which has the headlines—shall I put them back up again?
Steve Cortes: Right.
Joy Reid: That is who is running, now, the Donald Trump campaign.
That's right, Joy Reid. "Say 'Liberal Media' again, and I will blaze YOUR racist headlines across my screen again."
That is how you do journalism.
