The cast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” wants to know if “freedom obsession” during the coronavirus pandemic has gone too far under President Trump.
Co-host Willie Geist opened up the floor Wednesday to contributor Anand Giridharadas as the two began a conversation on the relationship between American citizens and the federal government in a post-COVID-19 world.
Mr. Giridharadas, host of Vice’s “Seat At The Table,” lamented the “primordial American tradition going back to the founders of being freedom-obsessed — even though we were a country founded on slavery” as a hindrance to getting “beyond” the pandemic.
“[Americans are] freedom-obsessed to the point that we’re always so afraid of the government coming for us that we’re blind to other types of threats, whether it’s a virus, whether it’s bank malfeasance, climate change, or what have you,” he said, the Washington Examiner reported.
The moment was reminiscent of MSNBC co-anchors Stephanie Ruhle and Ali Velshi discussing Second Amendment advocates in 2018.
“A lot of people vote pretty selfishly, and they say, ’What’s going to give me more money in my pockets?’ ” Ms. Ruhle said about President Trump’s strong base of support.
“Or what’s going to make sure that my Second Amendment rights stay the same, and clearly, that adds up to enough people that the president still has something akin to 40 percent of the electorate in polls,” Mr. Velshi added.
Wednesday’s comments by Mr. Giridharadas, however, culminated in a warning about the “Trump-era twist” by which the Republican’s base allegedly brings forth a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“You undermine government,” the guest continued. “You put someone who can barely read a sentence in government, in the figure of Donald Trump, and it becomes true. The government sucks because you made it suck by telling everybody it sucks. I think the most important thing that could come out of this is realizing the government is not the biggest threat to our liberty.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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