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Nicolle Wallace Gets 'Chills' From MSNBC Guest Saying Republicans in No-Win Situation on Kavanaugh

September 19, 2018

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said she got "chills" from commentary by guest David Jolly saying Republicans "can't win" regarding the sexual assault accusation made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Professor Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a house party in the early 1980s, and Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. Jolly said Americans would never come to full agreement over whether Ford or Kavanaugh were telling the truth.

"I choose to believe Dr. Ford," Jolly said. "I know others choose to believe Judge Kavanaugh, but Nicolle, if you speak to the raw politics of this ... I do hope and I believe that Dr. Ford eventually will sit down with either Senate staff in private or perhaps a public testimony, and at that moment, it is back to Republicans for their next move."

"Republicans right now find themselves in a situation where they really can't win, but they can't afford to lose," he added. "And what I mean by that is they are in a situation of either accepting her testimony and ignoring it, or accepting her testimony and voting down Kavanaugh or having him withdraw. None of those are a good place for Republicans to be, but they also can't afford to lose because if this gets postponed or Kavanaugh withdraws, they cannot get a new nominee confirmed before the election. And suppose Democrats take the Senate in November. There is no way then to suggest that Republicans could move forward with a new nominee if the Senate flips in November."

"David Jolly gives me chills about once a month. That was my monthly dose," Wallace gushed as she went to her next guest.

Jolly's commentary was suspect, however. Even if Kavanaugh were to be voted down or withdraw, and Democrats also won the Senate in November, the new Congress would not be seated until January.

Jolly is a frequent guest on Wallace's "Deadline: White House." He is a former Republican congressman who was unseated by Rep. Charlie Crist (D., Fla.) in 2016 and has since been a prominent critic of the Trump administration.

Wallace, a former George W. Bush administration communications director who also became disenchanted with the Republican Party, recently cut a commercial for her show talking about living in the "mayhem" of the Trump era.

Published under: MSNBC , Nicolle Wallace