MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Friday delivered a rant aimed at the GOP for pushing back against raising the national debt ceiling.
Scarborough described the likes of former President Donald Trump and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) as being “nihilists” for criticizing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) deal with the Democrats.
“[O]f course, the great irony is that we never have this problem when the Republicans are in the White House — not because they’re more responsible. Of course, we have all the numbers. Republicans are less responsible with deficits and debt than anybody,” Scarborough outlined. “Donald Trump ran up the biggest debt in the history of the United States when he got in office. What did Mitch McConnell, what did the Republicans say? They said, ‘Of course, we’re going to raise the debt ceiling. Of course, it’s the responsible thing to do. If we don’t do it, it will trash the economy.’ But what did Mitch start saying a couple weeks ago? We have to do it. We have to raise the debt ceiling, but we’re not going to do it. Ted Cruz is not going to do it. Lindsey Graham is not going to do it. Donald Trump from Mar-a-Lago. I mean, the guy never pays any of his debts anyway. How many times has he gone bankrupt? Republicans are listening to this guy who has gone bankrupt, what, a dozen times?”
“This guy — The New York Times got ahold of his tax returns over a decade, and what did they find? That over the course of a decade, no U.S. taxpayer had ever lost as much money in the history of the United States of America as Donald Trump,” he continued. “And this is who they’re listening to.”
Scarborough went on to accuse the Republicans of “playing with people’s lives” and “playing right into the hands of the communist Chinese.”
“Not one Republican would vote to save your retirement accounts. Not one Republican would vote to strengthen the U.S. economy. Not one Republican would vote to push back communist China and not hand them the greatest propaganda victory they’ve ever had against the United States of America that we’re so dysfunctional that we default on our debts,” he advised. “And you think that’s a game, Donald Trump? You think that’s a game, Lindsey Graham? What’s wrong with you? It’s a game? No, you’re playing with people’s lives, and worse than that, you’re playing with the reputation of the United States of America. And you are playing right into the hands of the communist Chinese.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent