‘Get Bent’: Chris Hayes Mocks Notion That GOP Is the Party of ‘Optimism’

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes could barely contain himself at the suggestion that the modern Republican Party represents “optimism” when it comes to the future of the country.

On Wednesday’s All In, Hayes spoke with The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller about Nikki Haley’s challenge to former President Donald Trump, under whom served as ambassador to the United Nations.

Earlier in the day, the former governor of South Carolina announced her bid, taking a veiled shot at President Joe Biden and Trump by calling for “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians over 75. She has made talk of a generational change in leadership the centerpiece of her campaign.

In terms of policy, she has so far refused to say where she disagrees with Trump, who declared his candidacy in November.

Longwell said Haley’s approach so far runs the risk of coming across as inauthentic, prompting Hayes to note Trump’s authenticity.

“In Trump’s case, the thing that works there is, it’s not that he authentically channels [Republican voters’] grievances,” Hayes said. “It’s that he’s authentically aggrieved. It’s like, he doesn’t have the same grievances as they do. He’s a billionaire who’s still mad at Bette Midler for not coming to the afterparty he threw in the plaza in 1987. That’s his grievance. It’s just that he is so authentically aggrieved. He’s driven entirely by grievance. That sells.”

Miller agreed, stating what Haley is offering has been attempted before.

“Absolutely,” he said, before citing Haley’s support of Sen. Marco Rubio’s ill-fated 2016 presidential campaign. “We tried this, the Nikki Haley thing in 2016. You could pull up the picture. It’s Tim Scott and Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio in 2016. They’re running on, ‘Hey, we’re an optimistic, future-looking party and–'”

Hayes chuckled at the thought.

“It’s like, get bent,” he interrupted, still laughing.

“We did this already!” Miller continued. “It finished a distant third place. That’s not what the voters wanted. The voters wanted somebody that was gonna put their thumb in the eye of the people they hated. Donald Trump did that well, Desantis does this pretty well. I wish that would change. I hope it’ll change sometime, but wishing is not a strategy.”

Hayes referenced the idealistic image of America as a city on a hill and juxtaposed it with a “crowd yelling, ‘Up yours!'”

The host asked Longwell about the prospect of a change in attitude among Americans.

“Yeah, but the fundamental thing that needs to change is like, the human behavior and the wishes and desires of the Republican Party – who they are and what they want,” she replied. “That is not a thing that’s gonna change. People have been asking me ever since she announced, ‘Isn’t it interesting? She’d be the only woman in the field, and a minority.’ And they’re like, ‘Or is that hard for a Republican?’ I’m like, ‘They don’t care if she’s a woman. They don’t care if she’s a minority. They care how hard she’ll make liberals cry. And if she’s not doing that, then she’s not getting the job done for what these voters want.'”

Watch above via MSNBC.

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