‘Have You Been to Chicago!?’ Trump Critic Loses It on MSNBC After Analyst Calls Crime ‘Manufactured Crisis’ By Prez
John Kasich went off on crime in cities like Chicago and Baltimore after listening to a fellow MSNBC analyst call President Donald Trump’s focus on crime a “manufactured crisis.”
Kasich, the former GOP governor of Ohio turned fierce Trump critic, joined MSNBC’s Chris Jansing on Monday and immediately laid into what he had just heard as the panel discussed Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and his talk of doing so in other cities.
Christopher O’Leary, an MSNBC national security analyst, had said he agreed with Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) calling Trump’s talk about crime a “manufactured crisis.” The analyst argued that Trump’s use of the National Guard in cities like Los Angeles and D.C. has been “completely inappropriate” and un-American.
Kasich questioned whether his fellow panelists were aware of the reality in cities such as Chicago and Baltimore.
He said:
Well, I have to tell you, I have such a different take than what we just heard. They talk about a manufactured crisis. Have you been in Chicago? Have you been in Baltimore? Look, my daughter went to school in Chicago. I remember the day she graduated, there were shootings and killings right outside of her building. And in Baltimore, I have friends who go down to Johns Hopkins, get treated for medical conditions. I mean, they’re nervous about ever going there. There are parts of Baltimore that he wouldn’t go into and this is not some right-wing person. This is someone who wants to be able to go into our great cities and be able to be safe.
Kasich argued the “mission” of these types of deployments needs to be clearly defined, but that to say there is no concern about crime is ignoring the reality of many residents.
“I think we need to know what the mission is. I think we need to know what the authority is. I think we need to know what the length is. But the idea that these cities are somehow fine. Oh, I think you’re whistling,” he said.
As Jansing responded, Kasich jumped in again.
“I heard the word ‘manufacturing crisis,’ this is a ‘manufactured crisis.’ No, it’s not! It is a crisis!” he said. “There are people at risk in these cities.”
Political analyst and Columbia professor Basil Smikle pushed back, saying if there were a “crisis,” then rent prices would not be so high in Chicago and elsewhere, a point Kasich later blasted.
“I don’t think we’re in the real world here when we talk about, ‘by the way, you know, the murder rate is down, so therefore we should celebrate.’ That’s absurd! It’s absurd to most people,” he said. “And if you polled most people in this country, they would say that they support efforts to make communities safer. Let me also say that I don’t know what we’re talking about in Chicago and in Baltimore. And because some parts of that city sees, you know, the cost of renting an apartment go up, there are businesses leaving Chicago!”
Kasich made sure to shout out MSNBC — where he is a political analyst — multiple times as he went off on crime, saying he’s thankful the network has him on to offer a more conservative perspective.
“It’s really amazing that MSNBC allows me to come on and have my voice,” he said, later ending the segment by declaring, “Thank God for MSNBC.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
