MSNBC guest: Republicans love 'negroes' like Herschel Walker who 'do what they're told'



On Saturday, the Nation contributor Elie Mystal asserted on MSNBC’s "The Cross Connection" with Tiffany Cross that Georgia's Republican candidate for Senate Herschel Walker was “unintelligent” and bereft of “independent thoughts.” The self-professed justice correspondent then proceeded to accuse Republicans of backing Walker because he “is going to do what he’s told ... That’s what Republicans want from their negroes: to do what they’re told.”

Elie Mystal has repeatedly and publicly denigrated Herschel Walker’s intelligence and made wild racially-charged accusations as a means to support Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's bid to stay in power.

Some have taken to Twitter to point out the apparent double-standard when it comes to racially-charged language on the left and the absence of consequence for Democrat-adjacent racial hatred.

\u201cIf a Republican pundit had said on Fox what was said of @HerschelWalker on Fox, major news outlets would be shoving microphones in Raphael Warnock's face demanding he denounce it.\u201d
— Erick Erickson (@Erick Erickson) 1659380055

Radio show host Erick Erickson suggested that comparable language uttered by a Republican would have prompted calls for denunciation.

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds called out Mystal, saying: "If you are a Black Republican, they will...question your Blackness, and insult your intelligence."

\u201cIf you are a Black Republican, they will call you a coon, sell out, question your Blackness, and insult your intelligence.\n\nIt's easy for people like @ElieNYC to talk "tough" without any push back from one of the "Republicans' negros." @TiffanyDCross invite me on, let's talk.\u201d
— Byron Donalds (@Byron Donalds) 1659367327

Javon A. Price regards Mystal's comments on MSNBC as more evidence of the racist mindset possessed by the left.

\u201cCalling Black men \u201cnegroes\u201d is apparently okay if you\u2019re speaking about Black conservatives. \n\nFrom Herschel Walker to Justice Thomas, the Left\u2019s bigotry & racism seems to always reveal itself when Black folks start to question/challenge the Democrat\u2019s narrative\u201d
— Javon A. Price \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Javon A. Price \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1659368091

Race, a leftist obsession

Seizing upon the resultant uproar, Mystal doubled down on Twitter, suggesting Walker's only qualification is his race. Walker's race is, for the Nation contributor, something of an obsession.

In April, the Nation published an article written by Mystal entitled “The Herschel Walker Senate Campaign is an Insult to Black People,” wherein Mystal called Walker “an animated caricature of a Black person drawn by white conservatives.” He suggested that his campaign was a “political minstrel show.” In the same piece, he simultaneously argued that Georgia Republicans don’t support black candidates yet excitedly support Herschel. He concluded by demanding that black Americans vote as a racial bloc against Walker. Failing to do so, says Mystal, would render them "clapping seals."

Herschel hits back with kindness and prayer

Herschel took to Twitter on August 1 to hit back. In a video response, he said, “Shame on MSNBC and shame on him...I’m going to pray for both of them, because they need Jesus.”

\u201cMy response to @MSNBC and the man who called me the N word. \n\n@ReverendWarnock and the left wing crazies believe America is a fundamentally bad country full of racist people. But you and I know this is a great country, full of good people. #gasen\u201d
— Herschel Walker (@Herschel Walker) 1659377897

Walker noted further that Mystal's screed reminded him of the stark differences between the "leftwing crazies" in the Warnock camp and himself. The former "want to divide us, turn us against each other."

Notwithstanding the MSNBC guest's racial framing, Walker underlined how America is a "good country full of good people."

Early exit polling from Georgia runoff election shows a drop-off in voting from key demographic



Early exit polling showed a drop-off in voting from a key demographic, according to NBC data analyst Steve Kornacki.

Kornacki explained the results from the early exit polling Tuesday on MSNBC as polls were approaching closing time in the runoff election that will decide the partisan fate of the U.S. Senate.

Georgia's two seats will decide whether the U.S. Senate is controlled by Republicans or Democrats. Republican incumbent Sen. David Purdue is facing off against Democrat Jon Ossoff while Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also a Republican incumbent, faces a challenge by Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock.

Republicans currently hold a 50-48 edge in the U.S. Senate.

Voters by race

Kornacki pointed out that the composition by race of voters in the election had not changed for those identifying as black Americans, and had only slightly grown for those identifying as white Americans.

While whites comprised 61% of the electorate in the general election in November, the early exit polling showed that the demographic had grown to 62% of the electorate.

Meanwhile, Black Americans had neither decreased nor increased since November and stayed the same percentage of the electorate, 29%.

Voters by age

When it came to account for the electorate by age, a key group did not appear to show up to vote, according to the early results.

Kornacki pointed to the youngest voters, those between 18 and 30 years of age, as those that did not vote as much as they did in November.

Voters under 30 years of age only comprised 13% of the electorate in the early polling whereas they accounted for 20% of the voters in the November general election.

Younger voters are much more likely to vote for Democrats than Republicans, so a drop-off in the voting from their demographic could be pivotal in determining the Senate runoff elections.

However, Kornacki cautioned the MSNBC audience that the results were early and could change as more data was released.

"These are not the final exit poll numbers. There's gonna be more that kinda comes in to this data over the next few hours, so we're sort of getting our first glimpse at what our electorate looks like in Georgia for this runoff," Kornacki said.

Here's the video of the early exit results:

.@SteveKornacki breaks down the first batch of exit polls on #ElectionDay for the #GASen runoffs. #TrackingKornacki https://t.co/pUQ3HrSiKd
— MSNBC (@MSNBC)1609885464.0