Latest news with #SymoneSandersTownsend
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Morning Joe's VERY awkward clash with black MSNBC co-star over Trump's DC takeover
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough was met with some awkward pushback from his MSNBC colleague Symone Sanders Townsend during a discussion about Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, DC, on Tuesday. Scarborough, 62, had claimed the municipality has serious crime problems, and that Trump's decision was the right one to make. Sanders Townsend - a former spokesperson and advisor to then-Vice President Kamala Harris - argued the plan to mobilize hundreds of National Guard troops was not only unconstitutional, but uncalled for. She cited statistics showing how DC crime is in decline despite Trump's emergency order, while accusing the conservative of 'fearmongering' and engaging in 'rhetoric and not the reality.' Scarborough responded by asking the politician-turned-pundit to clarify her stance on local law enforcement. The inquiry appeared to suggest Sanders Townsend - a black woman - subscribed to the 'Defund the Police' movement. Scarborough had asked: 'You don't think more police make streets safer?' Sanders Townsend, 35, clapped back: 'No, Joe, I'm a Black woman in America. I do not always think that more police make streets safer.' A smirking Scarborough listened silently as Sanders Townsend continued her spiel. 'When you walk down the streets of Georgetown, you don't see a police officer on every corner, but you don't feel unsafe,' she argued. 'I think we have to rethink what safety means in America,' she added. Scarborough, a former Florida Republican, replied: 'Well, you know, there have been black city council members in New York City when people were talking about defunding the police, saying the people we represent are the people who need police officers the most.' 'So our children can walk from their homes to school without being stopped, you know, five, ten times by drug dealers or people that are going to assault them,' he added. Sanders Townsend remained unconvinced, causing Scarborough to outright question his coworker's stance. "I just, I don't, I don't think this is an issue of Black versus white", he said. 'When you come- when you're talking about safety, there are a lot of Black Americans who don't feel safe in their homes, in their neighborhoods. 'And when they hear people talking about defunding the police, it freaks them out'. Sanders Townsend still insisted Trump taking over DC's police force was 'authoritarian overreach,' before clarifying some of her views. 'I'm not saying that the police are not good, I never supported defund,' she said. 'I think you're making a good point, Joe. 'I want to be able to call the police in my neighborhood, and when they come, I don't want them to think that I'm a suspect,' she added. 'But what we are talking about is that the president of the United States is saying that there is a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. 'An emergency could be anything that he says it is,' she concluded, as Scarborough attempted to interrupt. Both have called DC home for the past decade, during a pandemic-related spike in crime that finally began to decrease last year. Trump has cited the 2023 spike as evidence that federal intervention is needed. Troops began arriving in DC on Tuesday morning. More than 800 National Guard agents have been deployed. Some have criticized the move as being for show. Others, like Scarborough, have claimed it was a long time coming. Currently, DC's murder rate is high - seventh in the nation when looking at cities with 250,000 or more citizens. Shoplifting crimes and attacks on government employees, moreover, have persisted since the pandemic. Earlier in the week, Scarborough chided local officials for what he framed as lax sentencing laws that have allowed local judges to me more lenient with younger criminals. 'If city council members continue to do things that undermine the security of, of the streets and of the communities and the places, not only where tourists go, where people have to go to work day in and day out,' he argued Monday. 'Then yeah - we need the federal government to be far more involved in the nation's capital. This is not Nebraska.' 'This is the nation's capital,' he asserted, hours after Trump ordered an increased presence of law enforcement.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Ex-Harris aide argues more police won't make streets safer, citing experience as a ‘Black woman in America'
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend pushed back on increased police presence in D.C., claiming during a panel Tuesday that, as a Black woman, she doesn't believe more officers make communities safer—particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Sanders-Townsend, who served as chief spokesperson and senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris before joining MSNBC in 2022, spoke on President Donald Trump's new initiative to stop crime in the nation's capital. Trump announced Monday that he plans to deploy approximately 800 National Guard troops and assume oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle rising crime in Washington, D.C. The announcement caused shockwaves across media, but some, like MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, hinted that there may be some truth to Trump saying there is a crisis. "There has been a problem in D.C. It's not as bad as it was 2 or 3 years ago, but it's not as safe as Manhattan. It's not as safe as the nation's capital should be. By the way, I've lived in D.C. for 32 years. I can go chapter and verse if you'd like me to," Scarborough said. Sanders-Townsend appeared openly shocked at Scarborough's words and pushed back, citing her experience as having lived in D.C. for the last 10 years and her husband running the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. "It is perceived violence amplified by some actual real acts of violence," she said before adding, "the way I've heard D.C. being described this morning is like it's a city under siege, like it's a dangerous place, clutching your pearls, you've got to keep your bag under your dress when you leave the house. And that's just not true." She said that the conversation is revolving around these instances of "juvenile crime" that Trump is using as a pretext for his "authoritatrain overreach." Sanders-Townsend argued there is just barely enough real crime to make people think that Trump may have some legitimate reason to take such action, but all the while, people are "ignoring the fact that more police officers on the street are not going to fix the issue of juvenile crime." Scarborough urged her to clarify, asking, "You don't think more police make streets safer?" "No, Joe. I'm a Black woman in America," she said. "I do not always think that more police make streets safer. When you walk down the streets of Georgetown, you don't see a police officer on every corner, but you don't feel unsafe." "So what is it about talking about places like southeast D.C., right, Ward 8, if you will, that people say, 'Well, we need more officers to make us safe?' I think we have to rethink what safety means in America," Sanders-Townsend argued.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Symone Sanders-Townsend cites her expertise as 'a Black woman' to argue why more cops won't make DC safer
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend argued that her life experience as a Black woman in America provides a unique perspective on why adding more police will not actually make Americans safer in Washington D.C.
Sky News AU
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
MSNBC host has meltdown over Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling
MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend has had a meltdown following the Supreme Court's ruling on birthright citizenship. During a panel discussion on Friday, Townsend called SCOTUS's ruling 'insane' as they voted in favour of US President Donald Trump's executive order. 'I just don't, I can't believe that we are asking the question, 'Is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution constitutional?' That is what, it is crazy. And I am sorry, but people need to call, 'This is crazy,'' she said. 'They are asking us… They're asking us not to believe our own eyes and our own ears. They're asking us to go against everything that we know to be true. This is insane.' The Supreme Court recently handed the Trump administration a major victory in its efforts to block lower courts from upending its executive orders. The justices ruled 6-3 in favour of the Trump administration; the ruling will allow lower courts to issue injunctions but only in limited situations.
Daily Mail
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling causes MSNBC host to erupt on air
MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend gave an unhinged reaction to the Supreme Court 's birthright citizenship decision handed down on Friday. Sanders is a Co-Host of MSNBC's The Weeknight, and a Former Chief Spokesperson for Vice President Harris. 'I just don't, I can't believe that we are asking the question, 'is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution constitutional?' That is what, it is crazy. And I am sorry, but people need to call, 'this is crazy,' Sanders Townsend stated on air. 'They are asking us… They're asking us not to believe our own eyes and our own ears. They're asking us to go against everything that we know to be true. This is insane,' Sanders Townsend added. Another one of her co-hosts, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, responded to Sanders Townsend noting that 'Trump and and his minions inside the government been very effective at setting to stair steps to the various narratives that they want to get accomplished.' The court ruled 6-3 Friday in favor of Trump to end the practice of stalling his Executive Orders and agenda. The ruling allows Trump's executive order halting birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants to take effect in states and jurisdictions that did not directly challenge his action in court. It could mean citizenship rules vary from state to state, pending ongoing litigation. While all six conservative justices - including the three he appointed - sided with the president, three people dissented the historic ruling. When the decision was made Friday, a fiery dispute broke out between two of America's most powerful judges. The justices' secret personal feuds have seemingly become so fraught that they are counting down the days until the SCOTUS summer recess - which will be a welcome respite from both work and colleagues, according to Chief Justice John Roberts. This week, the court's liberal wing erupted in spectacular fashion against the six-judge conservative alliance during the biggest ruling of the year thus far. Trump appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett, 53, ripped into liberal dissenter Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's arguments in her 6-3 majority opinion in a major birthright citizenship case. Writing for the conservative majority of the court, Barrett hit back at both Jackson and fellow Justice Sonia Sotomayor who dissented. Barrett's scorched earth reply took aim at Jackson mostly, spending 900 words to repeatedly rip into the Biden appointee and the court's most junior member. Jackson went on to describe the decision as an 'existential threat to the rule of law.' Speaking at the White House after his victory, Trump said: 'This was a big one. Amazing decision, one we're very happy about. This really brings back the Constitution. This is what it's all about.' Basking in his victory during an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room, the president vowed to push through 'many' more of his policies after the court win, including curbs to birthright citizenship. The president said he would 'promptly file' to advance policies that have previously been blocked by judges. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ruling meant 'not one district court judge can think they're an emperor over this administration and his executive powers, and why the people of the United States elected him.'
