MSNBC’s Tamron Hall on Monday blamed the “obstructionist” Ted Cruz for “birthing” Donald Trump by encouraging an inflexible Congress. The cable anchor grilled a Cruz supporter, former Congressman Jack Kingston, on the Tea Party’s responsibility. After Kingston referred to the Texas senator as a “disruption” to the status quo, Hall demanded, “But the disruption that you refer to and how we process what the American people see as an ineffective Congress, when you think about Senator Cruz on the Senate floor, holding up business.”
She complained, “You think about former Speaker Boehner, John Boehner being essentially run out of town by Tea Partiers who wanted to be obstructionists, not compromisers. Not people of flexibility.”
Making a leap of logic from Cruz to the life-long Democrat Trump, Hall wondered if Americans could “say that it's you and members of Congress who set the tone for disruption and as a result, you birthed this individual now leading your party, Donald Trump?”
Earlier, Hall declared, “One of the reasons given as to why the establishment is not ready to get behind Senator Cruz is they believe he's too conservative, and there will be no compromise if he's in a general election.”
A partial transcript of the MSNBC Live segment is below:
MSNBC Live
3/7/16
11:05TAMRON HALL: Let's talk about the fact that some establishment Republicans reportedly reluctant to support Ted Cruz. And not really being as vocal as you have been on the campaign trail. How much of a struggle is that?
FMR. REP. JACK KINGSTON: Well, we have recently had a number of former Bush supporters get on our team. We will be making announcements about that later this week. And the reason is it is a two-man race right now.
TAMRON HALL: You speak of the primary voters and one of the reasons given as to why the establishment is not ready to get behind Senator Cruz is they believe he's too conservative, and there will be no compromise if he's in a general election, thus minimizing the kind of support he'll be able to get if it's a head-to-head against Bernie Sanders or a head-to-head against Hillary Clinton. I bring that up because when you look back at your own race, at the time, you pointed out that it was a fail for the party or, quote, “irresponsible” for the party to just let Obamacare fail. You said, rather, people should encourage colleagues to coalesce around a replacement if needed, as opposed to having this all or nothing attitude.
...
KINGSTON: But the reality is, Trump is not a conservative. Ted Cruz is. They are both disrupters to the status quo, which is what the pent up demand is right now.
HALL: But does the disruption that you refer to and how we process what the American people see as an ineffective Congress, when you think about Senator Cruz on the Senate floor, holding up business, you think about former Speaker Boehner, John Boehner being essentially run out of town by Tea Partiers who wanted to be obstructionists, not compromisers. Not people of flexibility. The list goes on and on. When you think about this quote/unquote “disruption” and who eventually Americans will blame, could they say that it's you and members of Congress who set the tone for disruption and as a result, you birthed this individual now leading your party, Donald Trump?
