[See NewsBusters for more.] Doing the dirty work of Joe Biden, MSNBC on three separate shows vilified half the country, comparing the Democrat to Abraham Lincoln’s fight to save the union or Franklin Roosevelt’s rhetorical fight in 1940 against fascism. NBC News historian Michael Beschloss on Thursday night and Friday morning linked political disputes in 2022 to the most perilous moments of 19th and 20th century. Appearing on Thursday’s Last Word, he told host Lawrence O’Donnell: “Joe Biden is saying, ‘Here we are, I am president, but the democracy is in peril, like 1860, like 1940.’ We are in a situation where few things go the wrong way, we could lose our system, our rule of law, our free and fair elections.”
Regarding Biden’s very angry speech, Beschloss echoed the attempt to slime anyone who disagrees with Biden: “And I think one thing that makes presidents look very good in history is when they stand up to that moment and say, you know, ‘This is what it is. Fish or cut bait, maybe all lose as a result.’”