What happened? Vice President Kamala Harris praised one of America's most prominent anti-Semites during a speech in New York on Friday.
It was Al Sharpton, wasn't it? Correct. Al Sharpton, the notorious race hustler best known for instigating the Crown Heights riots—one of the worst outbursts of anti-Semitic violence in American history that inspired slogans such as "Let's get the Jew!" and "Hitler didn't finish the job."
What'd she say? "Rev, I love you [maniacal laughter]," Harris said at the National Action Network convention in Manhattan. "No matter where you are, you are always a voice of truth speaking about the importance of justice for all people. You are part of the conscience of our country."
Why'd she say it? Sharpton has successfully reinvented himself as a "respectable" "mainstream" race hustler—who hosts his own show on MSNBC—and is one of the most influential figures within the Democratic Party and media establishment.
From Anti-Semitic Agitator to Democratic Power Broker: The Preposterous Resurrection of Al Sharpton
Sharpton has never apologized for being an anti-Semite, has he? No. In fact, he was recently invited on MSNBC to discuss why unrepentant anti-Semites (like himself) should not be given a platform in the media. Sharpton has conceded he might have made comments in the past that "could be interpreted wrong." Alas, no apology.
It was Morning Joe, wasn't it? Of course it was. The show's host, former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough, actually introduced a resolution in 2000 condemning Sharpton for his "vicious verbal anti-Semitic attacks directed at members of the Jewish faith," as well as his "fierce demagoguery [that] incited violence, riots, and murder in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York."
Oh, weird. Yeah.
Al Sharpton Versus the Teleprompter (Vol. 1)
