MSNBC host Joe Scarborough claimed Thursday that former President Donald Trump viewed GOP primary voters as “backwater redneck Republicans” as he hit at the former President over abortion.
“Why does Donald Trump act so crazy and act so radical? It’s because he’s not really a Republican. He’s not really a conservative. So from the very beginning, he said, ‘OK, I’m a Manhattan Democrat.’ I — I — swear to God, this is — this is it,” Scarborough told co-host and wife Mike Brzezinski.
“I know that guy. I’m the — I’m the Manhattan Democrat, I’m very liberal on abortion, I’m very liberal on — Donald Trump very liberal on banning guns. He’s very liberal on all of these issues.” Scarborough said. “And so when he decided to run, he said, ‘okay, well, what — what are those backwater redneck Republicans think[ing]? What do they want?’”
All three of Trump’s nominees to the Supreme Court, Associate Justices David Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, were part of the 5-4 majority that overturned Roe v. Wade in June when they upheld Mississippi’s restrictions on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Trump leads Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida by 45% in a Rasmussen Reports poll released Wednesday, 62% to 17%, with former Vice President Mike Pence garnering 6% and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley receiving 5%. Trump leads DeSantis by 36.1% in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
“There has to be a Republican out there, swear to God, there has to be a Republican out there that cares about the things that I care about, that cares about the things that Americans care about,” Scarborough said. “We got a $31 trillion national debt. We got Republicans talking about retreating and — and appeasing Vladimir Putin.”
