Debate over Rudy Giuliani’s comments about whether Barack Obama loves America continued Monday morning, with the former New York City mayor penning an op-ed defending himself in The Wall Street Journal.
“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough and Mark Halperin called out a “huge double standard” in media coverage of Democrats who question Republicans’ patriotism.
Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, cited Nancy Pelosi and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann as examples of Democrats engaging in rhetoric similar to Giuliani’s without triggering a comparable media firestorm.
“I actually have been critical of Rudy Giuliani, but I can’t let a White House spokesman though say something like that when Nancy Pelosi and others have called Republicans unpatriotic for doing things that most people would not consider to be unpatriotic,” Scarborough said.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest called the former mayor’s comments “sad to see.”
“I think they were off the hook, too. But I just have to bring up, again, if Democrats are going to beat their chest in self-righteous indignation, I’m sorry, how many times have Democrats called George W. Bush or Republicans unpatriotic over the past 10, 15 years?” Scarborough asked.
“It’s a huge double standard in the media…” Halperin said. “Every reporter has to look at this as a case and say this is a standard we’re going to hold everybody to or just Republicans.”
“It happens all the time,” Scarborough said.
“But something didn’t seem off and random about it?” asked Scarborough’s co-host Mika Brzezinski.
“Yes, it seemed off and random, but it seems off and random when Nancy Pelosi calls Republicans unpatriotic but nobody in the mainstream media notices or cares,” Scarborough continued.
“I didn’t hear you going on a tirade any time Democrats called Republicans unpatriotic,” Scarborough told Brzezinski. “Keith Olbermann on this network said some of the most horrific things about the President of the United States. I didn’t see people’s hair going up in flames then.”
“You were certainly here when Keith Olbermann would say things at night on this network that would make Rudy Giuliani look like he was at a tea party,” Scarborough said stingingly. “I heard nobody in the mainstream media’s hair catching on fire going crazy. He got away with it for years!”
“What if Dick Cheney had nuzzled the hair for a woman standing at a photo-op at the White House for 23 seconds?” Halperin asked. “What would the reaction of the press had been?”
“I don’t know,” Brzezinski replied, hoping to move the conversation on.
“My God. What do you mean, you don’t know?!” Scarborough exclaimed. “Don’t play dumb!”
“Some in the media would want charges brought against him,” Halperin added.
“Let’s just stop arguing with double standard thing,” Scarborough concluded. “I don’t want to argue that the sky is blue.”