Panel members on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hammered President Joe Biden on Wednesday for avoiding taking a stance on whether or not the Masters Tournament should relocate from Georgia over the state’s new election law.
Hosts Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist criticized Biden, saying it’s “impossible to square his argument” after he alternatively took a stand in favor of the MLB moving the All-Star game from Atlanta to Denver, citing the Georgia law. (RELATED: ‘A Dream Opportunity For The Republican Party’: Joe Scarborough Blasts MLB’s ‘Ridiculous’ Decision To Move All-Star Game)
“If you’re against the All-Star game being played in Atlanta, Georgia, because of legislation that is so racist, then why do you belong to the most exclusive golf club in America, and the world, in the state of Georgia?” Scarborough began, referencing MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s membership at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club.
“Why is the most important golf tournament in the world played in the state of Georgia? And why do sponsors and why does the national press and why do Democrats apply one standard to the mid-summer classic and another standard to the Masters and every other sporting event that’s going to be held in Georgia?” he continued.
Geist followed by referencing Biden’s avoidance of the issue when asked by a reporter after a Tuesday press conference if he supported the Masters Tournament moving from Georgia as the All-Star game did. “It’s impossible to square his argument,” Geist said, before stating that Biden is now expressing concern over the impact that moving the tournament would have on working people.
“So in other words, there wasn’t a lot of concern for the $100 million that experts say will be lost because the All-Star game leaves Atlanta,” Geist continued. “But now all of a sudden it feels like after a week of criticism some people are catching up and saying, oh, this actually hurts a bunch of the people that we’re trying to protect in this country right now.”
“It’s also the position that everyone has put themselves in. We knew immediately wherever the All-Star Game was moved everyone would look clearly at the voting law there and say wait a minute, there are pieces of the voting law in Colorado that are worse than the one in Georgia,” he concluded. “This is a game that probably the White House and maybe Major League Baseball, on some levels, wishes it hadn’t played at this point, but here we are.”
The MLB announced Friday that it would be moving the All-Star Game out of Atlanta over Georgia’s new election law aimed at preventing voter fraud. When asked, Biden expressed support for the move and has also criticized the law, calling it “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.” The PGA announced Saturday it will not be moving any of the scheduled tournaments from Georgia this year. The Masters Tournament is expected to address the issue concerning Georgia’s law on Wednesday.
