MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude on Tuesday criticized President Donald Trump and claimed that when he uses the "soft on crime" language to attack a Democrat, he is using a racial dog whistle against black people.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace played multiple clips of Trump earlier in the segment that she perceived as racially insensitive and then asked Glaude how American politics has "slid so low." Glaude, also a Princeton University professor, said Trump's words show he is a "bigot" who represents many more across America.
"Donald Trump is just an exaggerated indication of the rot that's at the heart of the country. He becomes an easy avatar, right? He becomes an easy scapegoat, but he represents something that's across the nation," Glaude said. "We might call it just 30 percent, but it's alway there–it's always been there even with the election of Barack Obama in 2008. What we need to simply say is that Donald Trump is a bigot, period."
Glaude went on to say that Trump is "governing like a bigot" and that his comments on Tuesday about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) being "soft on crime" is just another dog whistle.
Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that he would be meeting with Pelosi and Schumer later in the day and then slammed them for wanting "illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked" and for being "weak on Crime."
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"The illegals coming, those are all dog whistles that I grew up with in the 1980's," Glaude said. "We know exactly what that is. To say that Doug Jones is soft on crime in Alabama, we know exactly he's saying to folks in Alabama."
"He likes black people," guest John Heilemann interjected.
"He likes black people," Glaude said. "Donald Trump is a bigot and what he's doing is appealing to bigots in this country."
Trump's tweet criticizing Pelosi and Schumer later prompted them to cancel their meeting with Trump and say they will instead continue their negotiations with Republican counterparts in Congress.