MSNBC panelist Mystal frustrated Biden speech didn’t target all Republicans: 'It's not for me'
Mystal claimed difference between GOP and MAGA like difference between 'white supremacists' and 'white supremacists'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During a Thursday evening panel on MSNBC’s "All in With Chris Hayes," The Nation reporter and MSNBC contributor Elie Mystal claimed he was unimpressed with President Joe Biden’s Thursday primetime political speech directed at the threat posed by "MAGA Republicans," because it didn’t paint all Republicans as extremists.
Mystal claimed Biden’s speech wasn’t for him because it was too easy on Republicans who aren’t fully in favor of Trump. He compared Biden’s distinction between MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump and the GOP to a distinction between a group of "white supremacists" and another group of white supremacists "who don’t think they’re white supremacists."
Though he did praise Biden for not tearing into a heckler who allegedly yelled, "F--- Joe Biden" during the speech.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN SHOCKS VIEWERS WITH 'HELLISH RED BACKGROUND' FOR POLARIZING SPEECH
MSNBC contributor Elie Mystal panned Biden's Thursday speech because he claimed it was too easy on the non-MAGA wing of the GOP.
Speaking with "All In" host Chris Hayes and fellow MSNBC contributor Maya Wiley, Mystal admitted, "Yeah, I don’t know who the ‘It’s not all Republicans, just MAGA Republicans’ are for," seemingly perplexed at the distinction.
He then said, "Like I’m sure that there are some white supremacists who vote with white supremacists who don’t think they’re white supremacists, who were happy that Biden didn’t call them white supremacists." The comparison was clearly intended to show Mystal’s perception that the GOP and alleged extremist Trump fans are one and the same.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s not for me," Mystal declared, insisting it was too nuanced.
Though Mystal did mention there was one part that "was for me," the part when Biden went easy on the heckler.
Mystal mentioned a "really great bit, where [Biden] says to the heckler, ‘that dude, that man – that person from the other side – is entitled to be outrageous.’" The panelist added, "And that to me, that is the difference between Biden and Trump," implying that Biden is far more tolerant than former President Trump ever was.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden gives a speech on protecting American democracy in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 1st, 2022. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
He also compared himself to the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas, saying, "That is the difference between me and Ginni Thomas," and followed up with a more general comparison, saying, "That is the difference between Democrats and Republicans."
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"Because Republicans right now would have that heckler be beaten," Mystal added. Chris Hayes pushed back slightly, saying, "I don’t know all Republicans, but Donald Trump –" "Donald Trump would certainly –" Mystal interjected, before Hayes admitted, "Donald Trump certainly has a record for saying things."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And Lindsey Graham would be like, ‘Ok Boss!’" Mystal claimed, mocking the Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina.
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Mystal panned Biden's speech during the latest episode of MSNBC's "All In with Chris Hayes." (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)