MSNBC’s coverage of the New Hampshire primary has been weird to watch, to say the least. With no large number of white evangelical voters to malign, the network’s coverage quickly shifted to general election mode, which at MSNBC means shilling for President Joe Biden.
Watch as host Joy Reid coughs up one of the more bizarre takes of the night by declaring Biden the grand winner of New Hampshire:
JOY REID: If New Hampshire is the avatar for what independent voters want and would choose, you know, given the option, given the fact anyone could play in that independent side, Nikki Haley beat Donald Trump among independents by something like 40 percentage points. That is not a good sign for a sitting — a former president of the United States who, again, wants to be seen as president. Yes, he will beat her in South Carolina. But let’s not forget one of the things that Joe Biden did was to remake the calendar such that he was not on the ballot in New Hampshire. Still mopped up Dean Phillips in New Hampshire, when he wasn’t even on the ballot, as a write-in candidate. Yes, Donald Trump will likely win South Carolina, Nikki Haley’s home state. Joe Biden might win it by more. Because that state is built for Joe Biden, just like on the Republican side it’s built for Donald Trump. So tonight, the winner, if you want to look at all of the metrics for a general election, the winner tonight is Joe Biden. Who won in New Hampshire decisively as a write-in, who’s going to win decisively in South Carolina. And the story that Donald Trump thinks he’s going to get out of South Carolina, Joe Biden will get one of equal value to him. And in the end, he’s got a better story to tell in November, ‘cause he’s not facing 91 criminal counts.
This is a performance on the caliber of North Korean anchors extolling the virtues of Juché, and the strength and virility of the Dear Leader while riding a white horse atop Mount Paektu. For starters, NBC reported the independent split in the GOP primary to be around 60-40 for Haley, not the 40 point split mentioned by Reid. Some might call this media disinformation.
Next, Reid touted Biden’s win in New Hampshire as some legendary achievement, and not the result, ultimately, of the DNC rigging the primary schedule and stifling any opposition to Joe Biden- which is the reason why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, left the party and went independent. Even so, Phillips sat at 21% as of this writing. That can’t be optimal.
Finally, Reid went to make the case that South Carolina is more favorable to Joe Biden than to Donald Trump- as if the upcoming primary were somehow the general election. What the better story is coming out of South Carolina is unknowable, because Biden is not likely to win the state in November.
This is what passes for primary night news analysis at MSNBC, where we watch so you don’t have to.
