MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski praised President Joe Biden on Monday after his decision to bow out of the race and warned that right-wingers have already launched a “hate campaign” against Biden’s endorsee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Brzezinski accused conservative media personalities of purposefully pronouncing Harris’ first name wrong.
“They do it all the time,” she said. “It is on purpose.”
Harris announced her race for the White House on Sunday, almost immediately after Biden dropped out of the race and issued an endorsement for his vice president.
“I’ve heard from inside Republican circles and right-wing media that the hate campaign against Kamala Harris has begun,” Brzezinski said.
The leftist talk show host has made clear her allegiance to Biden.
She has acknowledged her close, yearslong relationship with the Biden family many times on “Morning Joe” and staunchly defended Biden’s race for re-election – even when many other left-leaning media outlets wavered after his disastrous debate night performance.
“Well, obviously, on many levels, I’m really sad,” Brzezinski said on Monday. “Joe Biden is a patriot. I love him, his family, and I love what he’s done for the country. He had authenticity and touch.”
She said “everything” about Biden was part of his “empathic, very loving, very clear-eyed touch,” even his “stutter and the bumbling” – though she said these traits turned against him after the debate.
The Monday after the infamous Trump-Biden debate, Brzezinski opened ‘Morning Joe’ with a 15-minute monologue in defense of the sitting president.
“I still believe in Joe Biden,” Brzezinski said during the post-debate show. “I’ve learned that counting him out is always a mistake and doing that now could be catastrophic for our country.”
Her speech broke from many other news personalities – including CNN panelists immediately following the debate – who called for a new Democratic candidate and criticized Biden’s poor performance.
But Brzezinski said Biden “would say, ‘No time to complain about it.’”
“Let’s move on. It is go time. Democrats really have a moment of momentum here, and my hope is that they grab it and run with it,” Brzezinski said on Monday, switching gears and backing Harris. “Get unified. Get organized. Get coordinated. No more infighting.”
Brzezinski acknowledged that a blue win in November still won’t come easy since “Donald Trump is not easy to beat. He is not easy to beat, and anyone who thinks he is is back in 2016 when they’re laughing at the concept.”
The “Morning Joe” host called for unity and widespread support for Harris.
“My hope is that major Democrats and major Republicans from the Obamas to the Bush family to military leaders get behind the democracy ticket and we move on,” Brzezinski said.
And some leaders have thrown almost instant support at Harris. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton wasted little time in endorsing the vice president.
“We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and we will do whatever we can to support her,” they said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama has withheld his endorsement, instead issuing a statement that he has confidence the Democratic party will pick an “outstanding nominee.”
It seems Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both favor an “open” process to replace Biden and find a new potential Dem nominee.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said.
Meanwhile, Harris is polling the same as, or slightly better, than Biden against former President Donald Trump, according to NBC News’ latest national poll – igniting fears that the vice president may not give Dems a better chance at the White House.
However, since polls were conducted after Biden’s debate performance and prior to Trump’s assassination attempt, Harris’ candidacy was still hypothetical – which likely impacted results. It remains to be seen how Harris’ run for the White House may shake up the November election.