MSNBC’s Ali Velshi Absolutely BADGERS ‘Pro-Democracy’ Republican To Say If He’ll Support Trump 2024 — Here’s How That Went
MSNBC host Ali Velshi badgered New York Congressman-elect Mike Lawler — who prides himself on not being an election denier — to say whether he will support former President Donald Trump if he runs in 2024.
Republicans have been dumping on Trump with regularity after Tuesday’s midterm Election Night results, which were widely been seen as a Trump-fueled disappointment for Republicans. But not everyone is joining in on the ostentatious kicking-around of Trump by members of his own party.
On Saturday morning’s edition of MSNBC’s Velshi, the host concluded a friendly segment in which he and Lawler highlighted his belief in democracy over Trump’s election denialism by asking about Trump’s promised 2024 announcement.
The grilling began good-naturedly enough, but took a turn that Velshi did not appear to expect:
ALI VELSHI: Donald Trump is going to probably declare his presidency on Tuesday. Will you support him if he becomes the Republican nominee in the next election?
MIKE LAWLER: But there’s, there’s a whole lot of time to decide who’s running, who’s not. I think it’s premature to…
ALI VELSHI: You guys have thought about that all the time a lot. Come on, Mike Lawler, you’re a good guy. Congratulations. I want you to be a regular guest on my show. You can’t possibly have doubt about whether or not you’re going to go.
MIKE LAWLER: You know what?
(CROSSTALK)
ALI VELSHI: I’m going to be honest with you. Pretend we’re not on TV. Guys, cut the cameras. We’re not on TV. This is just you and me talking in a room. Will you support Donald Trump if he’s the Republican nominee?
MIKE LAWLER: You know what I’ve thought about for the entirety of this campaign? I thought about getting across the finish line and getting to work, and that was the focus for me. It was not about the 2024 election. It was about November 8th.
ALI VELSHI: So you might support Donald Trump if he’s the Republican nominee for president.
MIKE LAWLER: There is a lot of time between now and 2024 to let this play out. And I think, I think the objective of trying to litigate this within 24 hours or the 24-hour news cycle doesn’t.
ALI VELSHI: You had four years to litigate Donald Trump!
MIKE LAWLER: Right. Listen, a lot of a lot of the policies that he enacted, people supported,.
ALI VELSHI: But he’s a liar! He undermines Democracy!
MIKE LAWLER: Supported it across the country. And I think and I think the question.
ALI VELSHI: You don’t undermine democracy. You, you actually support the.
MIKE LAWLER: I do support democracy, which.
ALI VELSHI: He doesn’t, he undermined it. January 6 was his thing. Right?
MIKE LAWLER: Listen January 6 was wrong. And everybody, everybody who was involved in storming the Capitol obviously should be held accountable for it. The objective moving forward is to get this country in a better direction, cut the crap and focus on how we solve the problems that we’re facing. And I’ve said, we, you know, I’m excited to see there’s a lot of rising stars within the party. I’m excited to see how this plays out over the coming months and, and years ahead. But my focus is on getting to work January 3rd and doing the people’s business. That’s what, that’s why I ran in the first place. And that’s what my focus is.
ALI VELSHI: All right. We’re putting you in the maybe column. Let me know when that changes. Thanks for being with us this morning.
Watch above via MSNBC’s Velshi.
