Morning Joe compares Trump to the Confederacy’s ‘lost cause’ myth

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough pointed out the similarities between Donald Trump’s support within the Republican Party and the “lost cause” myth that persists in the former Confederacy.

The twice-impeached, twice-indicted former president remains the GOP’s presidential frontrunner despite his losing record, criminal investigations and a recent lawsuit finding him liable for sexual assault, and the “Morning Joe” host discussed the reasons for that lingering support with New York Times columnist David French.

“We’re dealing with deep pride and identity issues,” French said. “If you leave Trump, is that an admission that you were wrong? Is that an admission that maybe he’s done wrong things? Are you giving aid and comfort to people on the other side of the aisle or never-Trumpers who you really despise or dislike? This is a conversation where the policy matters or electoral politics are downstream from pride or identity. This feeling, you’ll see it when you talk to people, ‘If I give up on Trump, they win. The one thing I cannot do is help them to win.’ We’re talking at a level of identity that is very deep and profound. I’m not sure how you crack through that and, you know, we’ll see it if ever happens.”

Scarborough compared that core support to the romanticized view of the Confederacy that has helped sustain white supremacy.

IN OTHER NEWS: Top law enforcement officials ‘quashed a plan’ to investigate Trump for Jan. 6 for a over year

“You know, I’m not saying this to be glib, I’m talking about my people, my tribe, my region,” Scarborough said. “I love the South, I am — I mean, it’s my home just like it’s your home. Are we moving into ‘lost cause’ territory with a third of the country? Are we moving into ‘lost cause’ territory where — again, because the idea of politics is to win elections these people have to know Donald Trump will not win in 2024.”

Co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed his assessment was tough but fair.

“These people believe [President Joe] Biden runs a crime family and his son has access to as many secrets as Trump did,” she said. “They believe many conspiracy theories, [so] ‘lost cause’ may be a good word. It’s a harsh assessment, but that may be where we are because of the disinformation.”

Scarborough wondered why they would cling to their aggrievement and prefer to be victims, but French said he was looking at things the wrong way.

“That’s not the way they would frame it in their minds,” French said. “They say it’s most important to be right. If you go down with the ship being right, then you go down with the ship.”

Watch the video below or at this link.


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Lying Trump told 30K whoppers in his first term. This time we need to believe him



I am seeing a lot of nonsense being reported about the America-attacking Donald Trump alleging last weekend he will not seek a third term in office ... as if anything that comes out of his dirty mouth is at all credible.

Have we learned nothing yet?

Listen to me, good people: Unless he has the decency to die first, America’s First Felon has no intention of leaving the White House in 2028.

What we do between now and then in revolt of this revolting man will tell the tale.

After 10 years of carpet-bombing the truth, can everybody at least understand that we can never trust a single word that comes out of the dirty mouth of the woman-abusing narcissist, who according to one count told an astonishing 30,573 lies and mistruths during his first chaotic presidency when hundreds of thousands of Americans needlessly died because of his RFK Jr.-like response to a once-in-a-century killer pandemic?

We need only rely on his past despicable actions to get at his true future intent, because whatever this racist lowlife — who is actively trying to disappear people of color and their history from our government websites — is saying and what he has actually done is far, far worse.

We know by his actions that after losing the 2020 election by more than seven million votes to Joe Biden, Trump began making it crystal clear to everyone that he had no intention of stepping down and honoring the vote of the people.

Thus, the Big Lie was hatched.

Rather than gracefully concede his loss, as Hillary Clinton had done four years earlier after winning close to three million votes MORE than him, Trump decided to go to war against America.

We know by his revolting actions, that after losing scores of legal challenges, and publicly threatening and shaking down poll workers and election officials, Trump finally summoned the worst people in America, his lawless base, to Washington in an attempt to violently overthrow the government.

We watched for hours as overmatched law enforcement officers were beaten with American and rebel flags, and stomped into curbs. We watched as Trump’s thugs breached our Capitol inflicting millions of dollars worth of damage, and then hunted down politicians threatening them with death and hanging.

And while all this was happening Trump took no action, except for hoping the insurrection would succeed.

Finally, when it was clear the attack had been put down, he grudgingly harrumphed in front of a camera on the White House lawn, and through gritted, yellow teeth told the people who had attacked us that he loved them.

He told them that he loved them …

I just want to stop here for a second and ask again, because it can never be asked enough: What would have happened on this terrible day if Black people had inflicted the worst attack on our Capitol since 1812? Would they have have been told they were loved by the outgoing President of the United States?

Fact is, there would have been thousands of dead and wounded littering the Capitol grounds, and most white people would have been falling all over themselves to say they got what they deserved.

Because that is how America operates today and always. We are a racist country governed by white people, who predominate our elected offices, our military and law enforcement barracks, but mostly our banks.

I’ll never forget any of what happened that terrible day, but mostly I’ll never forget that chilling moment when the racist Trump told those disgusting people that he loved them, because that’s when I knew for sure he was coming back.

It was yet another call to the far-right, racist extremists who cement his morally bankrupt base to “stand back and standby.”

By telling the people who violently attacked us that he loved them, Trump was making it plain as day that unless he was jailed and/or prevented by Congress from ever running again, he was going to be back to finish us off in 2024.

He was telling us he understood America and the degenerates in the Republican Party better than the elected officials who were supposed to keep us safe, and honor our Constitution.

He was telling us he knew this country better than Mitch McConnell, or Biden, or anybody who he appointed to be his Attorney General. He was making a bet on injustice and cruelty, and against the country he had attacked.

First, McConnell and 42 other gutless Republican senators failed to vote to convict at Trump's second impeachment trial, which would have prevented the America-attacker from ever running for office again. Then there was the three-dimensional chess-playing legal scholar, Merrick Garland, who spent four years successfully putting himself in check.

So catastrophically did Biden's attorney general fail us, that even the foot soldiers in the Jan. 6 attack who he was able to successfully jail are now back on the streets because he refused to lay a glove on their lawless leader, the most dangerous man in the world.

Finally, there was Biden, a good man who spent four years too often talking about an America that never existed, and ended his term perched in front of a crackling fire at the White House just days after Trump had carried out his threat to return, and enthusiastically offering him his hand, a warm smile and a, “Welcome back!”

Welcome back. My God …

When will people start taking this violent, democratic arsonist seriously? When will we start looking at his repulsive actions, instead of taking him at his empty word?

I bring all this up today because in addition to making sure we never forget what has really happened to America, we keep a close eye on what is really happening in America.

The American-attacking Trump is telling us in words what he has been telling us with his actions the past 10 years: The Constitution of the United States simply does not apply to him.

When asked during the same interview last Sunday in which he said he wouldn’t run again, NBC’s Kristen Welker pressed him on if he will uphold that Constitution.

Trump answered this way: “I don’t know.”

Now ask yourself what would have happened if Barack Obama had given that answer.

D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here, and follow him on Bluesky here.

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