How a GOP lawmaker tried to 'gaslight a national television audience' while defending Trump: analysis

19 December 2023

During an inflammatory speech in New Hampshire on Saturday, December 16, former President Donald Trump attacked immigrants for "poisoning the blood of our country" and praised far-right authoritarians like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's most vehement critics have pointed out that "poisoning the blood" is the type of rhetoric that Adolf Hitler used in his 1924 book "Mein Kampf"; Hitler accused Jews of "poisoning the blood" of Germany.

Some Senate Republicans have offered mild criticism of Trump's remarks, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota). Tillis described Trump's rhetoric as "unhelpful."

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But Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York), during an appearance on CNN, vigorously defended Trump — claiming that Trump wasn't talking about immigrants but rather, "was talking about Democratic policies." Malliotakis told CNN's Abby Phillip that Trump "never said immigrants are poisoning" the U.S. — a defense that MSNBC's Steve Benen tears apart in a December 19 column.

"In case there were any doubts," Benen writes, "the New York Republican didn't appear to be kidding. Her defense wasn't offered with a wink and a nod. Malliotakis presented this defense as if the public was supposed to take it seriously."

When Trump attacks "these people" during his anti-immigrant tirades, Benen stresses, he is obviously referring to people from other countries — not Democratic policies.

"Look, I'm aware of the challenge," Benen argues. "If I were a member of Congress, and my party's likely presidential nominee started using Hitler-like rhetoric about immigrants, I’d struggle to think of a defense, too. But that doesn't justify Malliotakis trying to gaslight a national television audience. The idea that Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric isn't actually anti-immigrant rhetoric is demonstrably ridiculous."

Read Steve Benen's full MSNBC column at this link and watch the CNN video below:

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