‘Trump’s Sexual Abuse Makes The Senator Want To Vote For Him Twice!’ Jen Psaki Amazed By GOP Reaction To Trump Verdict
MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was amazed by the various GOP reactions to Trump’s sexual abuse verdict, including one senator who said it made him want to vote for Trump twice.
Even after Trump spent almost four solid minutes mocking E. Jean Carroll — whom a jury says Trump sexually abused — at a CNN town hall this week, many prominent Republicans couldn’t bring themselves to speak out.
On Sunday’s edition of MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki, the host ran through some of the “amazing” reactions from Republican senators and others — and concluded by accusing the party of being “okay” with Trump’s actions as a reflection on them:
JEN PSAKI: Ahead of the 2024 election, republicans are doing everything they can to define themselves as the party of family values, like kicking up a moral panic around education, gender, and any discussion of sexuality. But that plan has one big problem, and his name is Donald Trump. On Tuesday, a panel of nine jurors in New York unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against E. Jean Carroll. The following day, at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, he openly mocked his accuser to the laughter and applause of Republican voters in the audience. It was definitely disturbing, but unfortunately not necessarily surprising. Because why should Republican voters take Trump’s wrongdoing seriously when the party leaders never call him out? Let’s be honest, this shouldn’t be a difficult question. If someone asks you, do you stand by somebody who is found liable for sexual abuse? The answer should be some version of no. But outside of a handful of Republican lawmakers, they have, by and large, pretty much avoided criticizing the former president. Take Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. He responded to the verdict this week, saying that, quote, Trump has been amazing and his ability to weather these sorts of attacks. Attacks from who? A unanimous jury that found him liable for sexual abuse? Amazing. That’s amazing. Then there’s Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama who said the ruling only makes him want to, quote, vote for Trump twice. You heard that right. Trump’s sexual abuse makes the senator want to vote for him twice. Other Republicans took a defensive approach, responding with the same tired attacks on the integrity of the legal system. Senator Lindsey Graham declared that, quote, The New York legal system is off the rails. While Senator Marco Rubio called both the jury and the case, quote, a joke. I’m not sure what’s a joke to the senator about sexual abuse. Maybe he can explain that to us. But the most common Republican refrain was indifference to a jury finding the de facto leader of their party liable for sexual abuse. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, brushed off the verdict, saying it’s not, quote, where the American people are focused. Call me crazy, but I think more than a few people out there do care when a candidate has committed sexual abuse. And here’s presidential candidate Nikki Haley just this morning when she was asked if this verdict undermines the party.
NIKKI HALEY: I have always said that anyone that feels like they have been sexually assaulted in any way should come forward and have their voice heard. I also think anyone that’s been accused should be able to defend themselves. I was not on the jury. I am not the judge. I think that both of them had their voices heard. There has been a verdict and there’s been an appeal.
JEN PSAKI: Well, that was a pretty accurate summary of the legal process. I will certainly give her that. But what I didn’t hear was any kind of condemnation of someone who was just found liable for sexual abuse. Look, all of these Republicans are free to say something as simple as this. Donald Trump’s behavior is not what my party stands for. They are free. They have been free to do something about him. But I guess why start now? The problem for them is no matter how hard they try to spin themselves as the party of family values to create fake controversies, that’s hard to do with a straight face, given that the de facto leader of their party has now been branded a sexual abuser.
Watch above via MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki.
