MSNBC hosts criticized for mocking Virginia voters' concerns about immigration: 'Tone-deafness'
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow attacked her own network for airing Trump's victory speech on Super Tuesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC's ridicule of Republican voters in Virginia on Tuesday for listing immigration as a top priority has triggered sharp criticism of the network.
"On MSNBC, it's as predictable as the sun rising in the east, birds flying south for the winter, and something we can agree on, the (Dallas) Cowboys losing in January," Fox News contributor and columnist Joe Concha joked on Wednesday's "FOX & Friends First."
Liberal anchors Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki mocked voters concerned about illegal immigration on Super Tuesday. Reid accused White working-class Republicans of "increasingly" voting based on "race."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They're voting on this idea of an invasion of Brown people over the border," she claimed.
Psaki, a Virginia resident and former Biden White House press secretary, derisively cited an exit poll showing immigration as a top priority for GOP voters in the state, as others on MSNBC's panel laughed, suggesting it was foolish since Virginia isn't a border state.
Maddow quipped that Virginia "does have a border with West Virginia."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC'S PSAKI, MADDOW LAUGH AT AND MOCK VIRGINIA VOTERS FOR CARING ABOUT BORDER CRISIS
MSNBC anchors Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki attacked voters concerned about illegal immigration during their network's election night coverage on Super Tuesday. (Getty Images / MSNBC screenshot)
Concha pointed to other exit polls showing the economy and inflation were also top concerns for Republican voters. Immigration is another primary concern, but not for the reasons the liberal anchors claimed, he argued.
"This isn't a racism thing," he said. "But this is what that network pushes over and over again, because I guess they're telling their dwindling audience what they want to hear."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Concha argued Americans were worried about resources being stretched to house and care for illegal immigrants in their communities, and worried about security, with deadly drugs like fentanyl coming across the border and terrorists coming into the country.
"Outnumbered" co-host Harris Faulkner said the attitude at MSNBC was "deliberate," while fellow co-host Kayleigh McEnany said it reeked of "tone-deafness."
"They are seeing what's going on. They see the higher violent crimes among some illegal immigrants, and they have to see what happened to Laken Riley," Faulkner said of the liberal network. "They see that fentanyl has made every state in our republic a border state, so all that's left really is they don't care."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Outnumbered" guest Ari Fleischer said Maddow viewed West Virginia as effectively a "foreign country" with her quip about the border.
Concha also reacted to Maddow rebuking her own network for airing former President Trump's speech following his string of Super Tuesday primary victories, effectively cementing him as the GOP 2024 nominee.
MSNBC SEGMENT CALLING WHITE RURAL VOTERS 'MOST RACIST' IN THE COUNTRY RAISES EYEBROWS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joe Concha reacted to MSNBC's Super Tuesday coverage on "FOX & Friends First" on Wednesday morning. (Fox News)
"FOX & Friends" host Carley Shimkus believed it appeared as if the liberal network felt the need to "protect" its viewers because it thinks they "can't handle" hearing from Trump.
"To me, that's insulting," she said.
Concha argued MSNBC's strategy was all about "controlling the narrative" so viewers won't hear directly from President Trump about issues Americans are concerned about.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They can't control it when he's speaking without the filter. They want to be the filter, they want to control the narrative," he said.