KEEP COMING ONE ON TOP OF THE
OTHER AND BREAKING NEWS FEELS
LIKE HISTORY UNFOLDING AT
HIGH-SPEED IT IS VERY, VERY
DIFFICULT TO TRY TO FIND THE
PERSPECTIVE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO
TAKE IT ALL IN.
MOST OF US SIMPLY CANNOT DO IT.
MY NEXT GUEST CAN.
HE SUMMED UP THE LAST TEN DAYS
THIS WAY.
HE HOSTED A SUPER SPREADER EVENT
TO HONOR A JUSTICE WHO WOULD
HAVE THE GOVERNMENT CONTROL YOUR
BODY BUT REFUSE THE DUTY TO CARE
FOR IT.
AND WHEN THE VIRUS HE HELPED GO
AROUND CAME AROUND, HE AVAILED
OF THE HEALTH CARE HE WOULD DENY
OTHERS, FINANCED BY THE TAXES HE
REFUSES TO PAY.
JOINING US NOW, MSNBC POLITICAL
ANALYST AND PUB LISHER OF "THE
INK" NEWSLETTER.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US
TONIGHT.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU,
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING IT ALL
TO ME SO CLEARLY IN SUCH AN
ECONOMICALLY WRITTEN PIECE.
THAT’S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY,
BUT WE DO HAVE A FEW MINUTES TO
TALK.
SO IF THERE’S ANYTHING YOU’D
LIKE TO ADD TO AMERICA’S
UNDERSTANDING OF THIS, PLEASE
DO.
>> I THINK WHAT’S SO INTERESTING
IN THE WAY YOU SET IT UP IS THAT
PART OF WHY THIS IS HAPPENING,
PART OF WHY WE’RE HAVING THESE
HALF COMIC, HALF ABSOLUTELY
TERRIFYING MUSSOLINI-ESQUE
SCENES ON THE BALCONIY OF THE
WHITE HOUSE IS IT BENEFITS TRUMP
FOR US TO BE LIVING IN THIS
ETERNAL PRESENT EVERY DAY.
SO I WAS JUST REFLECTING TRYING
TO MAKE SENSE OF IT MYSELF.
AND JUST OVER THE LAST WEEK TO
TEN DAYS AS YOU SORT OF
REFERENCED IF YOU JUST LOOK
THROUGH WHAT WE HAVE LIVED
THROUGH IN THOSE TEN DAYS, IT
STARTED WITH THE PEACEFUL
TRANSFER OF POWER.
REMEMBER THAT?
WE MIGHT NOT HAVE A FREE AND
FAIR ELECTION, ALARM BELL, ALARM
BELL.
AND THEN QUICKLY IT WAS THE TAX
STORY AND THEN QUICKLY IT WAS
THE DEBATE STORY AND THE
BULLYING.
WE FORGOT ABOUT THE PRIOR TWO
THINGS, AND THEN THE PRESIDENT
GOT COVID.
I STARTED THINKING ABOUT THESE
FOUR EVENTS.
THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER,
THE TAXES, THE DEBATE, AND
COVID.
AND SUDDENLY HAD THIS EFIFPIPHAN
THIS IS ALL THE SAME STORY.
THIS IS A STORY OF A MASQUERADE
OF STRENGTH.
NOT TRYING TO BECOME A STRONG
MAN BECAUSE HE IS A STRONG MAN
BUT TRYING TO BECOME A STRONG
MAN BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE’S ON THE
WAY OUT.
ON THE TAXES, "THE NEW YORK
TIMES" REPORTING I WAS WRONG IN
THAT INITIAL STORY.
I THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT RIGGING
THE SYSTEM.
BUT "THE NEW YORK TIMES" PEOPLE
WHO BROKE THAT STORY WENT ON THE
DAILY PODCAST AND WENT THIS IS
NOT ACTUALLY QUITE ABOUT THAT.
THIS IS ABOUT THE FACT THE GUY
MAKES NO MONEY.
HE’S NOT PAYING TAXES BECAUSE
HE’S A BRILLIANT CON ARTIST.
HE DOES A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
BUT HE ACTUALLY DOESN’T MAKE
PROFIT.
HE’S NOT A BUSINESSMAN.
IT’S A WEAKNESS INVERTED INTO
THIS MASQUERADE OF STRENGTH AS A
BUSINESSMAN.
THE DEBATE, ANYONE WHO’S EVER
BEEN BULLIED AND I COUNT MYSELF
AMONG THOSE MILLIONS OF
AMERICANS KNOWS THAT THE
STRENGTH YOU EXPERIENCE WHEN
YOU’RE BEING THROWN INTO THE
LOCKER OR BEING TALKED OVER IN
THE MEETING OR BEING ROUGHED UP
BY THE POLICE IS ACTUALLY
SOMEONE’S TERROR OF WEAKNESS
INVERTED AGAIN, PERFORMED AS
STRENGTH.
AND FINALLY WITH THE PRESIDENT
GETTING THIS DISEASE, HE HAS
THIS DISEASE BECAUSE HE’S MORE
AFRAID, LAWRENCE, OF NOT BEING
SEEN AS A MAN THAN DYING.
HE’S CERTAINLY NOT AFRAID OF
KILLING YOU AND ME AND 200,000
AMERICANS THROUGH NEGLECT AND
MANSLAUGHTER VIA POLICY.
BUT I DON’T THINK HE’S AFRAID OF
KILLING HIMSELF IF THE PRICE
WOULD BE TO AVOID WHAT HE FEELS
IS THE HUMILIATION OF WEARING A
MASK AND SUBMITTING TO COMMON
SENSE AND CARE FOR OTHERS.
AND IT JUST BECAME FOR ME THIS
MOMENT OF THINKING ABOUT
AMERICA’S CULTURAL CRISIS, OF
KIND OF WEAKNESS MASQUERADING AS
STRENGTH.
>> YOU WRITE THAT IT SEEMS CLEAR
THAT HIS ILLNESS REPRESENTED THE
DEATH OF A CERTAIN WIDESPREAD
AND CATASTROPHIC KIND OF
MASCULINITY.
>> IT WAS THIS MOMENT, I DON’T
KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER THIS ONE OR
WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE PASSED
BY BY IT, ROBERT O’NEIL, THE
FORMER NAVY SEAL WHO CLAIMS TO
HAVE SHOT THE BULLET THAT KILLED
OSAMA BIN LADEN IN 2011 NOT LONG
AGO TWEETED A PHOTO OF HIMSELF
IN AN AIRPLANE NOT WEARING A
MASK WITH IN THE BACKGROUND AN
OLDER GUY, PERHAPS A VETERAN
WITH A U.S. MARINE CORP WHO WAS
PROPERLY WEARING A MASK ON THIS
DELTA FLIGHT, AND ROBERT O’NEIL
WITHOUT USING THE VULGARITY SAYS
I’M NOT A WUSS.
AGAIN, I HAVE THIS MOMENT OF
THINKING AS A MAN, WOW, WHAT IS
WITH OUR CULTURE OF MASCULINITY
IN THIS COUNTRY WHERE EVEN
ROBERT O’NEIL AFTER SHOOTING AND
KILLING OSAMA BIN LADEN DOES NOT
FEEL ENOUGH OF A MAN TO NOT TAKE
THAT PHOTO AND BRAG ABOUT