Hayes spoke with Senator Kamala Harris after the CNN Democratic Debate, and his line of questioning was a shame. Instead of asking her about being the first to bring up women's reproductive health, the only one to mention Black maternal mortality, or her characterization of Perdue Pharmaceuticals as nothing more than "dope dealers," Hayes chose to focus on her exchange with Senator Elizabeth Warren over Twitter's allowing Donald Trump's account to stay active.
Here's where he questions her focus on the danger Trump poses on Twitter, and she explains it in terms everyone can understand — with numbers, examples, how rules work, etc:
SEN. HARRIS: Ask the whistle-blower. Ask members of the United States Congress. Ask the people who are prepared to testify about this president's lawlessness and obstruction of justice. Ask the people and the families in El Paso when that shooter admitted in his manifesto that he was influenced by Donald Trump's tweets. Donald Trump has 65 million followers on Twitter, and we have to take seriously that the weaponization of this platform by the president and the need therefore of a private corporation to be held accountable to say he has abused the terms. And it could result in literally a threat to the safety of human beings who are participating in the process of justice.
Chris Hayes could have moved on to other topics like impeachment, for example. Instead, he clutched his pearls about limiting Donald Trump's free speech, and Sen. Harris had to explain to him how there are actual limits on free speech. Like, for example, you cannot say things that will result in someone's DEATH.
SEN. HARRIS: Free speech does not condone or protect threats to the safety of other human beings. And so that is what we are talking about. Let's be really clear what we're talking about, because this can go into some abstract law school debate. But the reality of it is, we're talking about Donald Trump weaponizing Twitter in a way that could result in real consequences, including death. And we have to say they can do that seriously.
Then, right after Sen. Harris says Trump's tweets endangers people's lives, Hayes asked her if she thinks Trump's tweets endanger people's lives.
SEN. HARRIS: Absolutely.
HAYES: Do you think he knows that?
SEN. HARRIS: Does it MATTER? Then you might as well ask me do you think he knows that when he sold out the Kurds that they're going to be slaughtered? The fact is he did it. The fact is that he is irresponsible. He is erratic. He does not -- he is like a 2-year-old with a machine gun. Right? He doesn't understand the power of his words or his actions in way that they will actually impact and could end other human beings' lives. So whether he understands it or not, look, he is the President of the United States. I don't actually care where he understands it or not. Because he has shown that he is not responsible enough to self-regulate. He has shown that he is not responsible enough to edit what he says.
A 2-YEAR-OLD WITH A MACHINE GUN. Could she be any clearer? Can Senator Harris paint the picture with sharper lines? Say it with smaller words for anyone? "I don't actually CARE whether he understands it or not," she said. BAM. That is how you deal with people who do not behave.
Twitter called out Hayes for his lame questioning.
