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."