Even as his fellow Morning Joe co-hosts praised John McCain on Friday for denouncing Code Pink anti-war protesters who attempted to disrupt a Senate hearing as "low-life sum," MSNBC's Thomas Roberts lectured the Republican Senator for shutting down the intruders: "If people want to show up and protest, right? They should be allowed to hear their voices. And instead of calling Capitol Hill police and then calling them 'low-life scum.'"
Thomas Roberts
By Mark Finkelstein | January 30, 2015 | 8:46 AM EST
You say "Jeb Bush," Thomas Roberts says "the Kouachi brothers."
It's got to be one of the strangest political Rorschach test results of all time. On today's Morning Joe, Roberts claimed that Jeb Bush would have a "big onus" around his neck if he runs for president "because if we hear 'Bush' we're automatically going to go to people bringing up the Kouachi brothers and their photos of Abu Ghraib that radicalized them about Iraq."
By Mark Finkelstein | November 6, 2014 | 9:30 AM EST
If Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina isn't already on 2016 GOP VP shortlists, perhaps he should be. His appearance on today's Morning Joe could hardly have been a more impressive audition.
When Scott expressed his concern for kids growing up in poverty, MSNBC's Thomas Roberts equated such concern with supporting a laundry list of liberal agenda items, implictly faulting Scott for his opposition to them. Scott responded by taking Roberts to school in an utterly undefensive manner. He reminded Roberts that 40 years of Dem congressional rule and a bigger-than-ever government, actually led to a significant increase in black poverty. Individual freedom, economic opportunity and education--not more government programs--are the keys to progress, explained Scott.
Thomas Roberts, Sam Stein Defend Hillary's War on Bill's Women: Just a 'Spouse' Dealing with a 'Personal Family Matter'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 23, 2014 | 8:16 AM EDT Today's Morning Joe offered a sinister sneak preview of how the MSM will defend presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whatever the cost to integrity or decency. The topic was the way that Hillary orchestrated the trashing of Bill's many women. Joe Scarborough argued forcefully that this should be remembered when as a presidential candidate she rails against the "war on women."
But there was HuffPo's Sam Stein, dismissing Hillary's calculated campaign against Monica Lewinsky as merely a "personal family matter." Then it was the turn of MSNBC's own Thomas Roberts to cover for Hillary. Roberts argued that despite her powerful position as First Lady of Arkansas and later of the United States, Hillary was simply a "spouse" who wasn't on a government "payroll."
In Twitter Chat with GLAAD, MSNBC's Thomas Roberts Insists Electing Pro-LGBT Leaders 'Step #1' for Justice
By Tim Graham | October 17, 2014 | 11:37 AM EDT Thursday was the annual "Spirit Day" festivities of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and no one was more cooperative than MSNBC. Gay activist/anchor Thomas Roberts participated in a Twitter chat on Thursday afternoon with GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis (or as he called her, "Madame President SKE.")
In the chat, someone asked about electing candidates to legislate for the gay agenda, which naturally, Roberts tweeted was "Step #1" for "equality and justice" to prevail in Americ
By Mark Finkelstein | October 9, 2014 | 8:08 AM EDT
Elite Dems across America might be scuttling away from Barack Obama. But the president can count on at least one man to stand by him: MSNBC's Thomas Roberts. On today's Morning Joe, Roberts accused Leon Panetta of criticizing President Obama for base motives: "getting paid" off his book, and currying close ties with Hillary Clinton.
Roberts' lame attempt to undermine Panetta came after Joe Scarborough and Mark Halperin [citing Ron Fournier] said Panetta's criticism of Obama echoes what elite Dems from Washington to Hollywood are saying in private—but are afraid to express in public.
By Laura Flint | August 8, 2014 | 11:15 AM EDT
Friday’s Morning Joe panel made sure to express how it was “disappointed” that a Minnesota restaurant had the audacity to put a “minimum wage fee” on its receipts after the state hiked the wage requirement. While Joe Scarborough acknowledged that “it's hard” for “small business owners running restaurants” he had no sympathy for the restaurant, which had received shocking blowback from its customers for simply specifying why it increased the bill by 35 cents.
The former congressman and MSNBC host, who reportedly earns $99,038 a week for his morning show, stated that he “understand(s) the difficulty of any extra burden” an increase in minimum wage exerts on small businesses. However, he concluded that “with the minimum wage as low as it historically is, you may not want to advertise your contempt for raising it a little bit on the bill.” [See video below. Click here for MP3 audio]
By Laura Flint | July 22, 2014 | 3:25 PM EDT
The July 22 edition of Morning Joe boasted an exclusive interview with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). But before Pelosi came on set, MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts featured his own slobbering interview with the politician in their shared hometown of Baltimore. Much to co-host Mika Brzezinski’s delight, Roberts delved into “Pelosi’s political roots” which “run deep.”
The segment featured Pelosi quipping with aging Baltimore residents because, Roberts explained, “Pelosi still recognizes the power and charm of retail politics.” According to the Way Too Early host, being “the only daughter of one of Baltimore's longest serving mayors, Thomas D’Alesandro,” it was “Pelosi's childhood, answering the door at her family home, trying to help the people who came to see her dad that proved to be her political training ground.” [See video below. Click here for MP3]
By Mark Finkelstein | June 10, 2014 | 8:54 AM EDT
Sure, Mika Brzezinski is a big Fauxchohantas fan who'd love to see Senator 1/32nd take on Hillary Clinton. But regardless of her motivation, credit Mika for courageously critiquing Hillary.
In a segment on today's Morning Joe about Hillary's "dead broke" blunder, Brzezinski scolded Hillary defenders Jeremy Peters [NYT], the egregious Thomas Roberts, Eugene Robinson and Joe Scarborough. Mika accused them of being "afraid" of the Clintons, of tiptoeing around them, and of holding their fire in hopes of being granted an interview with Hillary. View the startling video after the jump.
By Tim Graham | May 6, 2014 | 3:42 PM EDT
In a quick trip from NewsBusters to the doghouse, MSNBC executive Alec Korson, who’s in charge of Morning Joe and its lead-in Way Too Early, apologized to angry Latinos at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for mocking Mexicans by having a producer drink tequila in a sombrero in front of anchor Thomas Roberts.
He sent a note to NAHJ president Hugo Balta: “On Monday, Cinco De Mayo, Way Too Early made sarcastic references to the way some Americans celebrate the holiday. It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for the references. Thomas will be making this apology on Way Too Early tomorrow as well.”
By Mark Finkelstein | May 5, 2014 | 7:34 AM EDT
¡Ay caramba! Imagine the cries of offensive ethnic stereotyping or worse if Fox News had observed Cinco de Mayo by having one of its yanqui persons of pallor stagger across the set in a sombrero while chugging from a bottle of tequila?
But it happened on MSNBC, so the PC police probably won't make a peep. At today's transition from Way Too Early to Morning Joe, there pranced producer Louis Burgdorf with his Halloween-store sombrero and pint bottle. WTE host Thomas Roberts encouraged Burgdorf "to drink the whole thing and eat the worm," meaning either it was mezcal not tequila or Roberts just doesn't know his south-of-the-border booze. View the video after the jump.
It’s Not Just a Tweet: MSNBC’s Despicable Record of Smearing Republicans, Conservatives, and Tea Party as Racists
By Rich Noyes | February 3, 2014 | 8:27 AM EST
On Thursday, MSNBC President Phil Griffin apologized for a Twitter post suggesting conservatives (“the rightwing”) are racists who would “hate” a cute new Cheerios ad because it featured a biracial family: “The tweet last night was outrageous and unacceptable. We immediately acknowledged that it was offensive and wrong, apologized, and deleted it. We have dismissed the person responsible for the tweet.”
Griffin’s statement was a good first step, but if an apology is owed for this tweet, then MSNBC owes conservatives many, many more. The Media Research Center has compiled a long list of instances in which the network’s anchors have committed character assassination disguised as journalism, unjustly smearing conservatives, Republicans and the Tea Party as racists. Here are just some of the many outrageous examples we have documented: