Discussing the scandal this week concerning Donald Trump’s violation of federal law at Arlington National Cemetery, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had a bleak assessment of the state of things for the Republican party.
“Trump has gotten away with intimidation, mafia style gangster threats, because rank and file Republicans let him, or in many cases, just straight up help him,” Hayes declared.
At issue, this week Trump filmed a campaign video at Arlington National Cemetery, a violation of federal law prohibiting the use of the monument for political purposes. When an employee attempted to enforce this rule, one of Trump’s associates physically assaulted her. The employee filed a report with the military (which oversees the monument) but ultimately chose not to press charges because she feared retaliation by Trump’s supporters.
The Army has confirmed all of these events, and in a statement said in part, “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
Hayes described all of this, and then described how Trump as well as several associates, including his vice presidential running mate JD Vance, have shamelessly lied about the incident. Not only have they falsely impugned the woman they attacked, they have denied that they filmed a campaign video despite the fact that they released the video on Trump’s TikTok account.
“Does that sound familiar?” Hayes asked about all of this. “Does it sound a little like the story of Alexander Vindman, the soldier and National Security Council staffer who blew the whistle on Trump’s attempts to extort Ukraine for dirt on Joe Biden? Maybe it reminds you Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia election officials whose lives were threatened after Trump falsely accused them of rigging votes. Maybe it reminds you the threats against the women who have accused Trump of assault, and all the public officials who have prosecuted or sued him, and all the judges who have ruled against him, and all the elections officials who refused to break the rules and falisfy votes for him, and all the Republicans who voted to impeach him.”
“In each of those cases,” Hayes continued, “Trump has gotten away with intimidation, mafia style gangster threats, because rank and file Republicans let him, or in many cases, just straight up help him, using government power to make their partisan politics a sort of official state religion, and bullying anyone who gets in their way.”
At the end of the segment, Hayes concluded that the GOP “is a party in a movement, built around a candidate for whom nothing is sacred, not even a military cemetery, not the judicial system, not even democracy, unless it serves his twisted aims.”
Watch the clip below: