MSNBC host Ari Melber twisted himself into a major hissy fit on Wednesday after being shocked on-air by a former Trump administration official. But why Melber was shocked was even better.
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Turns out that Gordon Sondland, who served as ambassador to the European Union and then became a key witness against the then-president in his first impeachment, now supports Trump again.
The MSNBC host was flabbergasted.
Melber spoke with three former Trump officials, including White House advisor Peter Navarro, White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews, and Sondland about how working for the Trump administration has impacted their lives and what the most important thing was that they learned about the former president. But Sondland, in particular, was asked whether he stands by his previous disavowal of Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.
It appeared that Melber was totally unprepared for Sondland’s answer. He began:
No, I don’t stand by it, and I’ll tell you why. I’ve now lived four years under the Biden-Harris policies and I have to say that those policies are not only becoming an existential threat to our country’s way of life, but to our allies as well.
Oops. Melber began to lose it, immediately.
I’m going to let you finish, but this is so striking. You said it was a “no for me” after that, after January 6. And here we are right now, And you’re saying it’s a yes for you?
Then the former Trump official really sent Melber into a tizzy.
It is a yes, for me. It is an absolute yes for me. That is how badly the Biden-Harris team have prosecuted their job.
The clearly irritated host continued to raise his voice during the exchange.
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But the whole point you seem to be making was that January 6th and that kind of attack on democracy is bigger than any policy.
Sondland shot back:
I am seeing so many attacks on democracy that eclipse January 6th. If the Democrats are able to impose their desired program over the next several years, there will be massive voting irregularities.
Oh noes! It’s a wonder that Melber’s head didn’t explode. I mean, the faux journalist might as well have been wearing a Harris-Walz cheerleader uniform.
As if to further rain on Melber’s parade, Sondland later twisted the knife.
Policy matters greatly, because policy translates into our way of life and the way our country operates. I want to express that I’ve now lived for four years under the Biden-Harris administration. I live in a bucolic city of Portland, Oregon, which has been destroyed by those policies. Absolutely decimated. Businesses are suffering. My own business is suffering solely for political reasons and it’s all fixable and they don’t want to fix it.
I was somewhat shocked by Melber’s response, given Sondland’s June op-ed for Fox News, in which he clearly explained that he had changed his mind about Trump and why he did so. In the piece, titled “President Trump Fired Me and I’m Still Voting for Him,” he wrote, in part:
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Trump deserves votes from everyone who believes in strong borders, low taxes, less intrusive government, peace through strength, and success through merit. It’s a binary choice between Trump and Biden.
I am neither MAGA nor Never Trumper. I proudly served President Trump and our country as ambassador to the European Union.
I have agreed with him on most issues and disagreed on some. But I know that even when there are disagreements, his policies are strong, he’s mentally sharp, physically indefatigable, and deeply committed to the United States. I would proudly vote and work for him again.
“So, for everyone who is still saying no to Trump,” Sondland wrote, “you need to think about what ‘Make America Great Again’ means today. You don’t need to wear the hat to believe that Americans deserve better. You just need to believe that free market democracy is better than socialism, and strength is better than weakness.”
I usually write a closing paragraph, in which I tie key points of the article together.
In this case, Gordon Sondland did it for me.