Joe Scarborough likens ‘red state’ voters to Iranians who want ‘mullahs in charge’

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough told his audience Friday that “red state” Iranians who support Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “keep pushing back the tides of history.”

The star of “Morning Joe” fused American political rhetoric with commentary on Iranian anti-government protests during a conversation with David Ignatius of The Washington Post on the civil unrest in the Middle East, as the two framed “red-state” voters as would-be totalitarians.

“What I was struck by in 2009, during the protests, was the fact that you had a red-state Iran and you had a blue-state Iran — it was split down the middle,” Mr. Scarborough said, media watchdog NewsBusters reported. “Red-state Iran wanted to keep the mullahs in charge. Blue-state Iran wanted to move Iran into the 20th century so they could move into the 21st century. And you say, because it is so divided, that this is a regime that just can’t keep winning. They can’t keep pushing back the tides of history.”

“What has been fascinating this last week is that, is that red-state Iran, which loves the mullahs, and blue-state Iran — young, secular, wanting change — supporting President Hassan Rouhani — have both been in the streets, you know, in conservative cities like Mashhad, in the elite areas of Tehran — same thing, same phenomenon,” Mr. Ignatius replied. “So, Iran has converged, I think, in a frustration with the regime’s inability to deliver.”

Mr. Scarborough’s analysis comes two days after Iranian leaders deployed Revolutionary Guard units to quell protests.

“Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government,” President Trump tweeted of anti-government protesters on Wednesday. “You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!”

Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018