MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski mocked the IG report debunking claims former President Donald Trump cleared Lafayette Square for a photo-op, saying that it didn’t actually debunk anything.
The report indicated that the park was actually cleared of protesters so that new anti-scale fencing could be installed amid violent protests — and that park police had been given the green light to clear the area long before anyone knew that Trump planned to walk through the area.
Interior Dept. IG: “We did not find evidence that a potential presidential visit to the park or St. John’s church influenced the Park Police’s decision-making or deployment.” pic.twitter.com/qSRtGoWpXL
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 10, 2021
But according to Scarborough and Brzezinski, the report did not actually debunk anything. (RELATED: ‘Destabilizing For You’: Joe Scarborough Claims Some People Have ‘Forgotten What It’s Like To Be Americans’ Because Of Trump)
WATCH:
Brzezinski began by mocking the idea that park police would have the authority to forcefully clear the park just to install fencing. “Joe, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t think a contractor putting up a fence has this much power,” she said, noting that former Attorney General William Barr had asked that the clearing be accelerated once he learned Trump might be leaving the White House.
“First of all, I’ve got to say, I think I’ve been unduly tough on William Barr. Because I did not know all of this time, that not only was he operating as Attorney General of the United States of America, but he was also the director of scaffolding for Lafayette Park,” Scarborough joined in the mocking. “Imagine that, having that as your second job. You know, the headlines from some of our friends and the panting and heavy breathing after this IG report came out is laughable.”
Scarborough went on to argue that because Barr asked for the process to be expedited, it was reasonable to continue to blame Trump’s photo-op in front of St. John’s Church — which had been burned by protesters a day earlier — for the forceful clearing of the park.
“There’s a reason they were cleared with the urgency that they were cleared with. Two things again, my friends, and young children, can be true at the same time. They could have actually scheduled repairs on scaffolding at the same time, before knowing, of course, that Donald Trump, who was humiliated after news broke that he scrambled down to the bunker. I don’t know why he was humiliated by that, but for some reason, he was deeply humiliated by that,” Scarborough continued. “But they had made these plans and then Donald Trump and his aides made their plans that he was going to go across there. And again, the schedule could have been in place for a couple of days. Like, you can stop your panting. You can put down the paper bag. That really doesn’t prove anything.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald responded by saying, “There’s a good reason Joe Scarborough is the anchor of the liberal-left’s favorite cable outlet. Shown a *mountain of conclusive, documentary proof* that the Park Police’s use of tear gas had nothing to do with Trump – was planned well before – he still insists it happened.”
There’s a good reason Joe Scarborough is the anchor of the liberal-left’s favorite cable outlet. Shown a *mountain of conclusive, documentary proof* that the Park Police’s use of tear gas had nothing to do with Trump – was planned well before – he still insists it happened: https://t.co/hKzPszKLom
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 10, 2021