Seeking to deflect criticism of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar for her history of anti-Semitic remarks, Morning Joe swung into whataboutism mode today. Joe Scarborough flagrantly mischaracterized a tweet by GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy prior to the mid terms. Scarborough twice claimed that McCarthy had said "don't let Jews buy the election."

McCarthy had said no such thing. McCarthy had tweeted: "We cannot allow Soros, Steyer and Bloomberg to BUY this election. Get out and vote Republican." He never identified the three as Jewish, and it is unlikely that more than a small fraction of Americans would know that they are. In contrast, Omar explicitly accused Israel of having "hypnotized" the world, and called on Allah to let people see the "evil doings" of Israel. More recently, Omar tweeted that congressional support of Israel is "all about the Benjamins, baby." When asked to clarify, she one-word tweeted: "AIPAC!"

Mika Brzezinski pitched in, saying "it's beyond hypocrisy on a whole new level, driven by hate." Hate? Is she accusing McCarthy of hating Jews? Could she be accusing Republicans of hating Muslims at large? Really: please let us know, Mika.

Here's the transcript.



