MSNBC host Joe Scarborough unleashed a blistering on-air tirade, accusing Democratic leaders of being too woke to call out the obvious and warning that their refusal to confront the partys most radical voices is turning into a serious electoral liability.
The segment on MS NOW opened with a clip of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs (D-NY) Sunday appearance on ABC, where she was questioned about Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong and Hongs past calls to abolish police, prisons, and even Thanksgiving, according to Mediaite. Ocasio-Cortez insisted Hong had moved away from many of those positions and, reflecting on the politics of the Covid era, cited a New York City councilmans quip: Woke 1 was crazy.
After the clip, Scarborough tore into what he saw as a dismissive and evasive response, rejecting the idea that there was no great conspiracy behind renewed scrutiny of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He pointed to the success of New York Citys DSA-aligned Mayor Zohran Mamdani as proof that the issue is not socialism per se but extremism and moral blindness.
Scarborough praised Mamdani as someone whos proven to be, I think, extremely pragmatic in many ways, highlighting a strong approval rating, the lowest murder rate on record and a thriving economy. Yet he warned that such examples are overshadowed by other DSA figures whose rhetoric is far outside the mainstream and politically toxic.
But you also have [DSA] people in New York City that have been saying some whacked out things, Scarborough said. He continued: I think most mainstream voters would say theyre whacked out things, when their talking about going to pro-Hamas rallies the day after Hamas slaughtered more Jews than on any day since the Holocaust. I think 90% of Americans would think that is abhorrent.
Scarborough argued that progressive activists and their defenders try to blur the lines between legitimate policy debates and outright extremism. And so, you know, again, theyll try to blur the lines Oh, well, they just dont support healthcare for all no, no, were not saying that. We just [dont] support hate speech, he added.
Turning to the 2024 race, Scarborough said Democrats had once again ceded the cultural battlefield to Republicans, allowing the GOP to define Kamala Harris and the party as a whole through hot-button social issues. You couldnt watch an NFL game without seeing 300 Taxpayers are going to pay for trans surgeries for convicts ads, Scarborough said, arguing the MAGA Republican messaging moved working-class male voters across all demographics toward Donald Trump.
He insisted Democrats do not need to embrace every radical demand from the activist left in order to champion economic populism and middle-class concerns. Scarborough said they could credibly push for higher taxes on billionaires and serious healthcare reform while still drawing a bright moral line against anti-Israel agitation and pro-Hamas rhetoric.
Thats a legitimate mainstream debate for people to have healthcare for all, healthcare is unaffordable. That is something most Americans would agree with, he said. But please, I dont need people telling me, Oh, you have to just turn a blind eye to people saying that women getting raped on October 7 didnt matter, in the grand scheme of things. No, Americans arent going to support that.
With critical elections looming, Scarborough said Democrats were repeating the same self-sabotaging pattern: refusing to police their own extremes even when the political terrain favors them. As his frustration boiled over, he shouted: Its not about me, this is about the Democrats once again fumbling the football on the two yard line when they have a chance to make great gains but being so woke I dont know if you want to call it woke 1, woke 2 or woke 3 but being too woke to call out the obvious!
I swear to God, its really its crazy that were even having this conversation! he roared. Scarborough said party leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) must be willing to condemn extreme rhetoric and insist that candidates distance themselves from it if they hope to win back disaffected voters.
Were bringing this up now because it seems an awful lot like what was happening in 2024, when Democrats couldnt get out of their own way to win an election they should have won! he concluded. For conservatives, Scarboroughs outburst underscored a familiar critique: that a Democratic Party captive to its most radical activists, unwilling to defend basic moral clarity on issues like terrorism and antisemitism, will keep alienating the very working- and middle-class voters it claims to represent.
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