Zerlina Maxwell‘s pushback on MSNBC host Steve Kornacki’s virtual whataboutism and false equivalency were epic and necessary. She was adamant in preventing Kornacki from marginalizing the women, specifically Ilhan Omar which he attempted to do initially.
The portion of the segment started with Kornacki querying NBC Senior Politics Editor Beth Fouhy about the Squad (Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley) forcing the impeachment angle. In her answer, it was clear she was toeing the Democratic line by propping up Nancy Pelosi’s position of disregarding impeachment as they take an issues-based approach. She pretty much accused Tlaib and Omar of defying the Speaker of the House.
Zerlina Maxwell challenges MSNBC Host Steve Kornacki
When addressing Zerlina Maxwell, Steve Kornacki attempted, in a very subtle manner, to create a false equivalence between the President’s personal attack and pettiness with Ilhan Omar’s statements. Maxwell did not allow the slight to get very far.
“What did she say that was a personal attack on the President,” Zerlina Maxwell asked. “I don’t see impeachment, just to be clear, as a personal attack on the President. That is their constitutional obligation to hold this administration accountable for perceived crimes which were outlined in the Mueller Report. She didn’t come out and call the president names. … None of them attacked the President personally. … None of them called out his patriotism. What I saw today was four patriots come out and represent the country.”
It was clear that Kornacki felt challenged. He said that Omar brought up that the President colluded with a foreign government. He implied that was an attack on the President. Maxwell stopped him in his track. She reminded Kornacki that everything in that regards is in fact in the Mueller report.
After Maxwell checked Kornacki on the false equivalence, he resorted to the tonality of the women. Maxwell would have none of it.
Near the end of his exchange with Maxwell, it was clear that Kornacki thought Ilhan Omar was questioning Trump’s patriotism and he seemed somewhat defensive of it. It was as if he wanted to say, “How dare Ilhan Omar question someone’s patriotism.”