During MSNBC’s coverage of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, hosts Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid criticized the two candidates, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for talking a lot about the border and worrying about how to help Texas with problems on the border even though the border “is nowhere near Iowa. People in Iowa are not facing a border crisis.”
Reid said, “I don’t think that Republicans care about policy, because what was the issue that came up more — I think — than any other issue in this debate tonight? The border, which is nowhere near Iowa. People in Iowa are not facing a border crisis. But they’re so obsessed with the idea of the brown folks coming –.”
Fellow host and panelist Alex Wagner cut in to say, “But there is a lot of migrant labor and meatpacking plants, for example, in Iowa.”
Fellow host and panelist Stephanie Ruhle responded, “Which they need to have there.”
Wagner responded, “Yeah, I’m not maligning meatpacking workers in Iowa, but where you see the immigration rhetoric get most virulent, most poisonous is in largely homogenous areas that are seeing a big contemporary influx of migrant labor, migrant worker[s], migrant faces. And that’s why former Rep. Steve King (R-IA) had the resonance that he did.”
Maddow then stated, “Although, the way they’re talking about it tonight, to your point, Joy, was they were like, what are we going to do to help Texas? Poor Texas! Poor Texas!”
Reid responded, “Right! There’s nothing — there’s no border.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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