On Friday afternoon, during one of the rare liberal media acknowledgements of Louis Farrakhan's prominent presence at Aretha Franklin's funeral, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell gave an odd underreaction as she cited it as evidence of an "inclusive group" being on stage.
As her Andrea Mitchell Reports show gave live coverage of the event, at 12:06 p.m. Eastern, the MSNBC host listed several of those appearing on stage. She began: "It's interesting to see the panoply of civil rights leaders. Of course, right there at the church, we see Reverend Al (Sharpton), we see the Reverend Jesse Jackson who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but was so close to Aretha Franklin and is part of that legacy."
She then got to Farrakhan and noted that he is "very controversial," but then, rather than doing the obvious thing and commenting on how astonishing or hypocritical it is to see him invited to such a high-profile public event and to have a former President appear with him, she merely called his presence evidence of inclusion.
Mitchell: "Bill Clinton there, of course, and is going to give one of the eulogies. And also the Reverend Farrakhan -- a very controversial leader from the Nation of Islam who is also there. So it's an inclusive group."
She then pivoted to commenting on the aesthetics of the funeral procession: "We can see also on screen some of that parade of pink Cadillacs. I mean, the drama of this funeral and what Aretha Franklin means to the nation."
So having a notorious racist and anti-Semite from the left prominently featured at an event alongside several high-profile liberals was treated as if it were just another normal day when no such behavior would be tolerated if it were done by any prominent conservatives -- nor would conservatives tolerate such a presence amongst them. But for liberals, it's just an accepted part of political life.
