Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Thursday's The ReidOut show, MSNBC host Joy Reid demonstrated that she's not ready from primetime as she took a jab at Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert by confusing him with his colleague, Florida Republican Congressman Ted Yoho.
Introducing the "Craziest Damn Thing" segment of the show, Reid recalled:
JOY REID: Okay, you know what's crazy? When Donald Trump and his defenders try to project Trump's own failures onto their political opponents. Why, just today, Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert tried to deflect charges of racism against Trump -- and perhaps drown out his own little snafu of getting caught calling a female colleague a name that rhymes with "witch" -- by accusing the party that elected the first black President of being the real racists.
In fact, it was actually Congressman Yoho -- not Gohmert -- who allegedly called New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio Cortez by a derogatory insult this week. But it seems that the men -- who are both bald and white -- look similar enough to throw off Reid and her show's staff into making a "snafu" of their own in the MSNBC show's first week on the air.
It is ironic that Reid's on-air gaffe came just several days after two Republican Senators, as documented by NBCNews.com, were criticized for mixing up former Democratic Congressmen John Lewis and Elijah Cummings as they tweeted condolences over Lewis's passing.
Reid's goofup is also reminiscent of a similar mistake made years ago by one of her predecessors -- Keith Olbermann -- who used to feature a regular "Worst Person in the World" segment on his Countdown show. In one episode, his staff showed an image of former Georgia Democratic Senator Max Cleland while Olbermann trashed conservative talk radio host Neal Boortz.
Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Thursday, July 23, The ReidOut on MSNBC:
JOY REID: Okay, you know what's crazy? When Donald Trump and his defenders try to project Trump's own failures onto their political opponents. Why, just today, Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert tried to deflect charges of racism against Trump -- and perhaps drown out his own little snafu of getting caught calling a female colleague a name that rhymes with "witch" -- by accusing the party that elected the first black President of being the real racists.
He introduced a bill saying Democrats should be "barred from participation in the House of Representatives" because of their racist past. That's crazy, Louie. Do you know who your President is? But it's also a tactic straight out of the Trump playbook. To deflect from his own racism in 2019, Trump accused none other than the late Congressman Elijah Cummings -- Elijah Cummings -- of being a racist.
To deflect from his own corruption, Trump accused the FBI of being corrupt. And to deflect from his own lies, Trump accused the media of being liars. In fact, his first line of defense has always been "I know you are, but what am I?" Case in point: this exchange about Vladimir Putin.
HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE (from October 2016 presidential debate): He'd rather have a puppet as President of the United States --
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No puppet -- no puppet.
CLINTON: -- and it's pretty clear --
TRUMP: You're the puppet.
REID: No puppet -- no puppet -- in fact, it's a trait that seems to run in Trump's circle. Donald Trump Jr. -- who owes his entire career to his surname and his daddy's company -- literally said this about Joe Biden's son.
DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When you're the father and your son's entire career is dependent on that, they own you, Sean. That's what it is. They've bought Biden Inc.
REID: Do you know who you are? The craziest damn thing in the world today is Trump campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn taking the Trump projection strategy to a whole new level. Citing a recent video that appeared to show protesters clashing with federal forces in Portland, Epshteyn said without any irony, "This would be Joe Biden's America. It's a very scary place."
Wait a minute -- Trump is President right now -- this is happening in Trump's America, not Biden's. Y'all, do you know that he's President? You do know that he's President, right? And that is the "Craziest Damn Thing in the World."
