MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” panel staged a mock prayer for Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Thursday, ridiculing him for a forceful speech he delivered at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas.
Scott took the stage at the convention, where the GOP is working to rally voters ahead of November’s fight to keep control of Congress. He told the crowd: “The only way to keep dangerous, radical, weird out of the Senate is a united Republican Party, standing with our President, Donald J. Trump! Stand for the president, Donald J. Trump!”
He continued, “This is a battle for the heart of our nation. I said, the heart of our nation! The Democrats’ extreme candidates won’t rip that heart out of our chests!” Scott added, “They hate our culture. They hate what it means to be American. Hear me, Dallas. Not! On! Our! Watch! We will not back down. We will not grow weary.”
Back in the studio, co-host Joe Scarborough seized on the speech. “Wow. You know, speaking of weird. That was really weird,” Scarborough said. “I thought for a moment there, he needs some anti-seizure medication. I was concerned, and the whole ‘ripping the heart out of the chest’ and ‘Democrats hate America and American culture.'”
“No, no they don’t,” Scarborough said of Scott’s claim about Democrats. “But they are genuinely worried about you, Tim. Really worried about you, Tim.”
He then turned to Rev. Al Sharpton, who suggested the panel pray. “Well, first we should all join hands and pray for him,” Sharpton said, and the hosts joined hands on camera.
“Tim Scott needs an intersection. He needs an interception and intersection,” Sharpton said. “Because he is really out there. Bring him back in, Lord!”
“Thank you, baby Jesus, all right,” Scarborough said. Co-host Mika Brzezinski added, “I’m actually praying.” Sharpton replied, “I am actually praying, too,” saying he was stunned by Scott’s rhetoric and that it went well beyond ordinary loyalty to President Trump.
“I understand that you bowed to Trump, but the way he really went off the chain, you’ve got to really wonder about where he is in his head. And this is — ‘overcompensation’ is too light a term — this is, I’ve never seen anything like that in national politics,” Sharpton said. “And to play to Trump like that, you’d only do that if you were in fear of facing, you know, a firing squad or something.”
Sharpton also accused Scott of demonizing Democrats in a way he does not apply to Republicans or to Trump himself. Scarborough agreed, saying he laments that Republicans have moved away from “melting pot” ideals on immigration, but that he does not claim the party hates America.
Nathan Brand, a spokesperson for Scott, gave Fox News Digital a two-word response to the segment: “Bless their hearts.”
