Fretting ‘Rule of Law’ With Trump Nominees, MSNBC Has Felon Embezzler As Guest

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For a network that can barely breathe the name Donald Trump without calling him a “convicted felon,” you’d think MSNBC might be careful about having convicted felons as honored guests on their shows!

And yet . . . 

In a segment devoted to commenting on Trump nominees, Sunday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Weekend had on Democrat strategist Chuck Rocha. 

Co-host Symone Sanders expressed concern over the implications for the “rule of law” of Trump’s nominations.  

Rocha certainly has experience in problems with the rule of law. In his previous position as a senior union official with authority over a $30 million budget, Rocha was convicted of one count of felony embezzlement, and “acknowledged responsibility for the other 17 counts.” 

Rocha’s contribution to the discussion of Trump’s nominees was to compare them to the “crazy, broken” contents of a “junk drawer.” 

Meanwhile, what’s gotten into MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude Jr? For years, Glaude had comported himself like the Princeton professor that he is. But in recent times, Glaude has displayed a surprisingly uncouth side. Last month, appearing on Nicolle Wallace’s show, a highly emotional Glaude called on Kamala Harris to “bust Trump in his mouth” [video at 0:55]. 

Today, Glaude came close to saying “f- around and find out,” and called a statement by a Trump nominee “dumb s—,” pronouncing the word in full.

Come, come, Professor!

Co-host Alicia Menendez had quite the segment.

Menendez remarked that “there are people who understandably have tuned out after this election.” Yes, and chief among them have been . . . MSNBC viewers! The New York Times has reported that in the wake of the election, MSNBC has lost 39% of its audience!

After running a clip of Trump’s nominee for Energy Secretary rejecting the existence of a climate crisis, a choked-up Menendez said she was “scared,” worrying about the legacy being left for future generations. She claimed, “we know that we are already running out of time.” Take heart, Alicia. Rush Limbaugh’s famous Algore Countdown to Armageddon Clock ran out over eight years ago. But somehow, we are still here!

Here’s the transcript.

MSNBC
The Weekend
11/17/24
8:02 am ET

SYMONE SANDERS: Joining us now is MSNBC contributor and professor at Princeton University, Eddie Glaude, and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha. He is the host of the Latino Vote podcast.

. . . 

ALICIA MENENDEZ: So, Chuck Rocha, there are people who understandably have tuned out after this election. So, a lot of this is flying under the radar for them. All of these appointments, as my friend Symone has said, they’re a test for Senate Republicans, right? Which is why some of them might like to see this done by recess appointments. They don’t have to be on record taking a vote on some of these folks.

How do Democrats hold them responsible for the folks that they are going to allow at the highest levels of government?

CHUCK ROCHAS: I think it’s the most important part of the conversation. Because the people who watch it, they didn’t vote for this kind of chaos. They may have voted for Donald Trump. But in every focus group that I’ve done, they voted for lower prices. They wanted to go back to pre-Covid. It was never about the all the confusion that’s going on.

And let’s talk about this in totality. This is a kitchen cabinet. And in my cabinets at the house, I got my dishes in one thing, I got my drinks in another, I may have bourbon in a special cabinet. But there’s order.

MICHAEL STEELE: Always a special cabinet.

ROCHA: Always a cabinet for the bourbon. This is more like my junk drawer. Because all the crazy, broken things are in there. And I think the American people will see that. And that’s not what they voted for.

SYMONE SANDERS: You know, as we were talking about this this morning, before the show started, and reading through the new reporting, in my mind I’m thinking, some people might hear this, if it gets to their social media feed or whatnot, or if they’re watching right now and say, hmm. Some people may feel like this matters a lot, and others may say, well, why does this matter now?

And I, I think it matters because who the president puts in positions of power, it matters. It matters if they believe in treating people well, in adhering to the rule of law. But I guess, you know, if Donald Trump has appointed them, the rule of law isn’t necessarily the first thing they’re concerned about.

EDDIE GLAUDE: Look, Symone, I think that’s absolutely right. I mean, if we think who he’s going to put over DoJ. How is he going to deploy the Justice Department in pursuit of his quote-unquote enemies? If we think about who he’s going to put over the Defense, the Department of Defense. Will they allow him to deploy troops on domestic soil, right? When we think about who he’s gonna put over the Department of Education, will they in some ways accelerate the efforts to defund the Department of Education?

In all of these appointments, we have to think about the way in which they will in some ways be a part of an agenda aimed at, in some ways to my mind at least, destabilizing the republic, undermining basic democratic principles.

So if people think that this doesn’t matter, they’re gonna — I was about to say something I shouldn’t say. They gonna mess around and find out.

SANDERS: Uh-huh. FAFO.

. . . 

MENENDEZ: To talk about the stakes, they are the stakes for democracy. And then there’s the reality that if a lot of these folks get confirmed, the reverberations of the choices they make and the policies they lay out will last for generations to come.

So I’m thinking, Eddie, specifically, about Chris Wright, who Trump is nominating for Energy Secretary, and the fact that this is a person who does not believe that we are going through a climate crisis. Take a listen to what he has said on the matter.

CHRIS WRIGHT; There is no climate crisis. And we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either. What about extreme weather, you ask? We have seen no increase in the frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or floods, despite endless fearmongering of the media, politicians, and activists.

SANDERS: What?

MENENDEZ: And the folks who are still reeling in Florida —-

STEELE: It’s laughable.

MENENDEZ: — and North Carolina disagree. It is laughable, Michael. But I got to tell you, as a mom of little kids, I’m scared. Like, for people who are going to inherit this planet, right and we know that we are already running out of time. 

So the fact that now, policy is going to be determined by someone who’s not following the science, who doesn’t believe that we are already living in the middle of this crisis despite nature telling us otherwise, is to me, Eddie, alarming as sort of a generational legacy. That this is what we are endowing to our children.

GLAUDE: No, no, no. Alicia, I think this is absolutely right.

First of all, this is just some dumb shit. I’m sorry, it’s early in the morning. This doesn’t make any sense.