On Sunday morning, MSNBC’s “The Weekend” co-host Michael Steele fiercely criticized Donald Trump for his derogatory remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris during a Saturday night rally, where Trump referred to Harris as a “horror show.” Steele also took the opportunity to admonish the media for their handling of Trump’s inflammatory comments.
Reading a transcript from the rally, Steele highlighted Trump’s statement: “I don’t want even define her, I just want to say who she is, she’s a horror show, she’ll destroy our country.” The former RNC chair expressed frustration over how the media covers such remarks.
“I’m curious how reporters cover this because, to be honest, y’all leave a whole lot of this on the table. Y’all just leave too much on the table and you take what this man says as if, ‘A’ it’s meaningful and ‘B’ it’s important,” Steele began. “But for that title, president, former president in front of his name, there’s no way this iteration of Donald Trump would be a viable candidate for dog catcher, let alone president.”
Steele continued his critique, questioning why Trump’s rhetoric is normalized in political discourse. “I just don’t understand why we allow so much of what he says to seep into our culture and our politics as normal — that is not a normal quote from a human being running for president,” he said. “He cannot string a competent coherent sentence together, talking about someone else who is his political opponent.”
Steele further emphasized the role of the media in perpetuating this issue. “And we, in the press, and the media and others, look at this as this sort of dogfight, this ‘Who is ahead, who is behind’ rat race, as opposed to what this actually says about how we have fallen as a country to allow that crap every day on our air,” he concluded.
Steele’s comments underscore a broader concern about the media’s role in shaping political narratives and the impact of giving a platform to divisive and derogatory statements. His pointed remarks call for a more critical and responsible approach to political reporting, especially when it comes to inflammatory rhetoric from prominent figures.