Filling in for Katy Tur during the 2:00 p.m. ET hour on Thursday, MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt touted a wildly slanted question that she hurled at Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy during a Wednesday press conference, grilling the incoming House Minority Leader about the GOP being “more male and more white” following losses in the midterm elections.
Talking to liberal Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, Hunt teed up a clip of herself hammering McCarthy: “I pressed Kevin McCarthy on this yesterday, because frankly, his conference, it’s more white and male than it was before these midterm elections. They didn’t seem to want to say that it was President Trump’s fault that this actually played out the way it did.”
In the soundbite that followed, Hunt could be heard demanding: “Why do you think your conference is more male and more white than it was last time, when the country’s changing in the opposite direction? And what does that mean for the Republican Party?”
Moments later, Rubin eagerly jumped at the chance to pile on:
I think if you look at that and you look at the growing chasm, the growing canyon in the gender balance, you will see, in large part, that the Republicans are losing women....And to your point about diversity, I think this is huge....The Republicans do not have that, they do not look like America, and people really feel that....And then it just creates a picture of a party that is not like 21st Century America.
Hunt followed up by quoting a New York Times article entitled “Banner Year for Female Candidates Doesn’t Extend to the Republican Party.” The paper happily declared: “With fewer women as candidates and officeholders, Republicans risk further widening a gender gap at a historic levels, since far more women vote Democrat than Republican....”
While the election results show a clear gender gap for Republicans, Hunt and Rubin failed to point out the number of women and minorities who ran on the Republican side but were defeated by Democrats.
In an interview with McCarthy earlier in the day on Thursday, the hosts of CBS This Morning similarly interrogated Leader McCarthy on whether Republicans “have a problem with women.”
Here is a transcript of the November 15 exchange:
2:05 PM ET
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KASIE HUNT: Jennifer Rubin, what do you think is the message that Republicans should take away from the midterms? I pressed Kevin McCarthy on this yesterday, because frankly, his conference, it’s more white and male than it was before these midterm elections. They didn’t seem to want to say that it was President Trump’s fault that this actually played out the way it did. I think we can actually show you what Kevin McCarthy had to say, then we’ll talk about it.
HUNT [TO MCCARTHY DURING WEDNESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE]: Why do you think your conference is more male and more white than it was last time, when the country’s changing in the opposite direction? And what does that mean for the Republican Party?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY [R-CA]: Well, the Republican Party has to continue to grow. We took a beating inside the suburban areas. We’re gonna have to work harder. I think our message is gonna have to be clearer. Our ideas are gonna have to be stronger. We realize that and we will work towards that effort. Michael Bloomberg spent more than $100 million, over the top, more than 150 more. He focused on women who were Republican. And unfortunately, a lot of races became close.
HUNT: So he’s blaming Michael Bloomberg for his problem with suburbs and with women. Which does not – there seems to be a step missing there.
JENNIFER RUBIN [WASHINGTON POST]: Have you noticed that they’re no longer saying that Judge, now Justice Kavanaugh, was a big win for the Republicans. I think if you look at that and you look at the growing chasm, the growing canyon in the gender balance, you will see, in large part, that the Republicans are losing women. And yes, in the suburbs in particular. But I saw a statistic today that if you looked at districts that had 40% or more of college educated women, Democrats won 88% of those. That’s America, too. America is not only the rust belt. It’s not only white males without a college education. It’s these areas, too.
And to your point about diversity, I think this is huge. Democrats are finally beginning to increase their share of Hispanic voters. Large increases there, still have a long ways to go. But it’s much easier to do that when you have Hispanics, when you have African-Americans, when you have Muslims, when you have every shade and religion in your caucus. The Republicans do not have that, they do not look like America, and people really feel that. And then when you have the President, on top of all that, beating the drum on the caravan, which seems to have disappeared, if you’ve noticed.
HUNT: Funny how that works.
RUBIN: Isn’t it? And then it just creates a picture of a party that is not like 21st Century America.
HUNT: Yeah, in fact, we have – The New York Times has noted that this “Banner Year for Female Candidates Doesn’t Extend to the Republican Party”: “With a few races still undecided, the new Congress will have at least 105 Democratic women and 19 Republican women. With fewer women as candidates and officeholders, Republicans risk further widening a gender gap at a historic levels, since far more women vote Democrat than Republican....”
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