This is an adapted excerpt of the Aug. 8 episode of “Morning Joe.”
The recent attacks from Republicans targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military career are just a small part of a much larger theme within the Trump-Vance campaign — a campaign that feasts on dishonesty and disinformation.
They do that to deflect from a record where the cruelty, the violence, the antidemocratic values, the disrespect for our Constitution is the entire point. That’s who they are and that’s what they want to distract from.
They do that to deflect from a record where the cruelty, the violence, the antidemocratic values, the disrespect for our Constitution is the entire point.
And to do so, they are trying to tear two very positive, joyful and energetic people down.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are riding a high right now. Their best strategy is just to keep moving forward and deflect the disinformation that comes their way. But they also need to embrace the joy — which you see them doing.
Just look at the crowds they’re attracting. There has been a burst of energy and enthusiasm. You have people waiting out in the hot sun for hours. When you have to move a rally to an airport hangar, and that’s not even big enough, you’re onto something.
Harris isn’t on a roll just with her vice presidential pick, it’s her entire campaign. We know Donald Trump depends on crowd size for his own sense of value. We saw that from his very first event as president, his inauguration, where he had to lie about it. Clearly crowd size is very important to the former president, so what we’re seeing from Harris and Walz will, no doubt, be very scary to the Trump campaign moving forward. And it doesn’t look like their crowds will be getting smaller anytime soon.
Mika Brzezinski is the co-host of MS NOW's Morning Joe, founder of “Know Your Value” and author of four best-selling books, including “EARN IT!: Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in Your 20s and Beyond” (Hachette Books; May 7, 2019) with co-author Daniela Pierre-Bravo. Prior to joining MSNBC in 2007, Mika was an anchor of CBS Evening News Weekend Edition and a CBS News correspondent who frequently contributed to CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. Recommended
