'Morning Joe' guest compares Trump's 'political rhetoric' to 'what Al Qaeda or ISIS clerics' say
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Anti-Trump opinions are easy to find on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” but one guest might have produced the show's most stunning comparison yet.
Clint Watts, a former FBI agent and contributor for the network, appeared on the program Monday morning to discuss the proposed release of a Coast Guard lieutenant, who investigators said espoused white nationalist views and compiled a hit list of prominent Democratic politicians and media personalities, including "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough.
Christopher Hasson, 50, appeared to be planning attacks inspired by the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage, prosecutors claim.
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U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day noted that 50-year-old Christopher Hasson hasn't been charged with any terrorism-related offenses, and last week noted he had "grave concerns" about Hasson and warned that he would "have to have a whole lot of supervision." Federal prosecutors said late last Thursday that they will challenge any release conditions sought by Hasson's defense team in an effort to keep him in custody pending trial.
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Hasson pleaded not guilty last month to charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance. He faces a maximum of 31 years in prison if convicted of all four counts in his indictment.
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On “Morning Joe,” Scarborough accused President Trump and Attorney General William Barr “letting him walk.”
Watts said the decision “has to do with politics,” before firing off his shocking comparison.
“This is intertwined in our own politics today, they are inspired oftentimes by political rhetoric. If you took a lot of the statements by politicians right now in this country and you compare them to what Al Qaeda or ISIS clerics said that inspired attacks around the world over the last decade, they would look remarkably similar. This is incitement to violence in many cases,” Watts said.
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Scarborough then clarified if the former FBI agent was indeed talking about President Trump, to which Watts replied: “That’s exactly right, talking about people as animals or dogs, talking about people as being lesser humans. That sort of talk is highly similar to any extremist movement.”
During the same episode Monday morning, Scarborough offered his own opinion about the president.
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Discussing the California synagogue shooting, the former congressman blamed the president for some of the violence seen across the country.
“We are so far beyond dog whistles here, Donald. We are so far beyond dog whistles,” Scarborough charged.
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“The blood, the blood that is spilled, is on your hands. From white nationalists, from people who listen to that sort of rhetoric, any violence to journalists.
“You are just inciting violence. It’s just – it’s just obvious....We are calling it out now. You are unfit to the be President of the United States.”