Alex Wagner -- What the HELL?!?

[Sparkly]

I usually like Alex Wagner, but tonight she had a 20-minute dialogue (or something) with Black voters for Trump in or around Philadelphia, I believe. At one point, she did break in to say they aren't representative of the vast majority of voters in the area, and that most in the region will vote for Harris. BUT...

She let these voters go on and on -- without factual correction -- as they basically retold Trumpian lies, claimed Harris was uneducated, stated sexist positions about needing someone manly to stand up to Putin (!), giving false impressions of the economy, etc...

If these "person on the street" interviews are meant to be enlightening, who are they meant to enlighten? Washington Post loves to do them as feature articles, but again -- they don't challenge or inform the people they're speaking to, and they draw no conclusions for the reader. We're only left to understand, "People are horribly stupid!!" And then to feel horribly depressed...

[CanonRay]

1. Turned it off.

[Squaredeal]

7. Wife: "This is boring."

She turned it off.

[msongs]

2. as a network msnbc preaches to the choir and hardly any non choir members watch it nt

[Sparkly]

3. As a member of the choir,

I don't understand what the point is of these voter interviews.

[Intractable]

15. I'd say it's low-hanging fruit for cable news programming.

It's reality TV. It's cheap and easy to create, and most people who regularly watch Alex's show will just watch it and stay tuned for Lawrence.

[agingdem]

79. Just another "understanding the Trump voter" bilge...

Last edited Wed Oct 23, 2024, 12:41 PM - Edit history (1)

to paraphrase Marshal McLuhan (the medium is the message)..the messenger is the media..and Alex Wagner is the messenger...I assumed she intended to provoke conversation but her guests were irritating ..her tone-deaf caveat, the group does not represent the majority of Black voters, rang hollow because she allowed them to spew Trump's vile talking points with no pushback this close to the election...this was a inexcusable...a Trump ad in the making..

the cable news format is stale...the hosts are boring and predictable (with a few exceptions)...there's a reason cable news is sliding into irrelevance ...

[Intractable]

91. In Alex's defense, other than this segment, I noted that the rest of her show was quite pro-Kamala and/or anti-Trump.

>> allowing them to spew Trump's vile talking points with no pushback this close to the election

Yes. This is true. No pushback during this several-minute segment.

[LAS14]

40. The point is to educate us about what the opposition is saying and thinking.

We need to know to form effective counter arguments and tactics.

[Mad_Machine76]

96. I sort of understand that

but most of the time, I just roll my eyes, shrug, and ignore them. Almost none of the opposition has any genuinely good faith arguments or arguments untainted by distortions, fallacies, etc. to really learn about and it feels impossible to argue with them.......Have any of these folks ever shown themselves to be capable of rational thought and/or enlightenment?

[LAS14]

98. I heard a hopeful/sort of scary story recently...

... about a study that was conducted using AI and volunteers of both political spectrums who believed in one untruth or another. The AI asked the volunteer to describe their belief, then then AI system presented further questions, always polite, based on the particular beliefs. The questions elicited a change in the volunteer's belief so that it veered closer to truth. If we had time and wisdom to engage people in their specificity, maybe things could change a little.

[Cha]

70. Did Alex Wagner think she was doing

a fucking Public Service?

Did she or will she have White Voters For Kamala or is that too much Trouble.

[kerouac2]

4. Disturbing

These folks did not need a microphone and spot light. Sad.

[dflprincess]

5. Seriously, I turned it off and put on 1,000 Pound Sisters

as awful as that is.

[malaise]

11. Food network until

Lawrence😀

[Xavier Breath]

16. Probably what the 1,000 pound sisters are also watching.

[LeftInTX]

21. Never heard of that. But I can imagine it's on TLC

[dflprincess]

94. You imagined right!

It's one of those train wrecks I can't look away from.

[montanacowboy]

6. Can't watch her anymore

she is being turned into another Katy Turd. She is unwatchable.

[senseandsensibility]

8. Very unhelpful

especially with no fact checking.

[diehardblue]

9. Yes, her failure to fact check or bring on other voices puts her segment on my "never

watch again" list.

[BidenRocks]

44. Agree

She is off my DVR record que.

[TeslaNova]

10. Any Black (or any minority) person supporting Trump

Is like a chicken supporting Colonel Sanders.

[czarjak]

41. Turkeys For Thanksgiving

Tis nearly the season.

[BidenRocks]

47. WKRP Time! nt

[SocialDemocrat61]

85. "As god is my witness...

I thought turkeys could fly.”

[BaronChocula]

59. No different from the white people supporting trump

And the vast majority voting for trump are white. Unless you're a money hoarder, it's moronic to vote for trump if you're of any ethnic group.

[Moostache]

101. Amen and Hear, Hear!!!

I do not understand how ANYONE, of ANY race, creed, ethnicity, gender identification, sex or age can justify voting for Trump. It literally hurts my soul that the orange piece of shit is not going to get beat worse than Mondale in '84. He should be lucky to get ANY votes, let alone be a serious threat to win 13 days out...

[BaronChocula]

105. Thank you!!!!

[padah513]

64. Didn't Trump say something similar about Judeans? Come on man, be better than that.

[BaronChocula]

104. Thank you!!!

[Mr.WeRP]

68. It's hard when Musk is out there offering $1 million for a pledge to vote for Trump

[jfz9580m]

74. Misogyny is universal

I know that is true as a nonwhite woman..

[tulipsandroses]

12. I turned it off. Willfully ignorant idiots. Yes Alex, some black people are idiots too. Some are bigots. That's not news

For awhile now, she's been leaning into this blacks are leaning towards trump argument.

[brush]

42. Yes, so annoying, no fact checking or balance to the morons' positions.

And she quite often smiles inexplicably for some reason when the discussion is on serious issues.

That's so annoying too.

[Bev54]

13. I don't watch her at all.

[hlthe2b]

14. This isn't the first time she's had a ridiculously non-representative focus group...

I said the last time that if she did it again, I was done with her. So, I am--at least for the next indefinite period.

And, no, before I get hammered by the Alex Wagner defense team, I do not expect her to hold these silly focus groups at all. That is not her training and she clearly does not have a clue how to assemble without self-selection bias. That she insists on it despite their regurgitating what would normally appear on Breitbart means she didn't learn the first time.

[PlanetBev]

17. That was exactly my reaction

I turned it off and then went into a fit of depression. Why do some people think a bully is strong?

[Sparkly]

19. Thank you (and everyone else who concurred).

It's good to know I'm not alone.

All the "opinions" against her -- factually WRONG about her experience and education -- and then women AND of course men asserting that she couldn't possibly stand up to Putin!!

Do people imagine these are arm-wrestling competitions?!? She has nerves of steel!! (As did Hillary Clinton!) There is a REASON Putin wants TFG -- or several. Didn't they see VP Harris stand up to tfg in the debate? Have they seen her question judicial nominees or DOJ cabinet members? Do they even know she was an AG and prosecutor?!??

It's infuriating!!!

[NJCher]

48. don't let that silliness put you into a fit of depression!

Let it put you into a fit of laughter!

[Marigold]

18. Turned it off too

I am waiting for Lawrence O'Donnell.

[2naSalit]

20. I'm waiting...

For Larwence O.

[MizLibby]

22. Muted her and got a glass of wine

She looked too fucking happy listening to those dumb misogynistic stupid men-people. Not impressed with her fact- checking at all. Waiting for Lawrence.

[WSHazel]

23. I am not a fan of Wagner

I can catch this bull on Fox News, I don't need to see it on MSNBC. It seems likely that the Trump "voters" were plants and had talking points ready to go. No part of that interview felt authentic or unscripted. Why would she do an interview of a group where everyone already knew each other? What did she expect to happen?

[peggysue2]

24. I turned it off

Had enough TV politics for one day and I wasn't about to listen to the first woman continue her argument that Kamala Harris wasn't strong enough to lead on the world stage.

As for Alex Wagner? I rarely catch her show. I still miss Rachel Maddow.

[Wednesdays]

25. Meh, they're gonna be highly disappointed in about two weeks.

[Joinfortmill]

26. Never warmed to her. Like Nicolle better and

She worked for W, for God's sake.

[crimycarny]

27. I can't watch Alex Wagner

She comes off as naive and inexperienced (to me). An experienced journalist would have pushed back, but Alex seems to be in over her head.

I didn't watch this segment but one thing always comes to mind when I see low-information voters--how likely are they to actually vote? I watched a similar segment with Alex Wagner where she interviewed two young white males who had spouted the same sort of misinformation. It was making me mad until I realized that the same type of voter is often not even likely to show up to vote.

[Pas-de-Calais]

28. I record thanks will delete

[Silent Type]

29. I get it's upsetting, but are they supposed to avoid stories like this that do have significance.

I don’t think the current poll results — that show a slight shift among some Blacks toward trump — will pan out in November. But, it is worth hearing their thoughts.

[WSHazel]

30. I expect there will be a modest shift of black voters to Trump

That had little to nothing to do with that segment. That segment was about a bunch of Trump plants regurgitating nonsensical Trump talking points and Wagner giving them a prime time slot to do it on a supposedly "liberal" network. Either Wagner was conned or knet it was a set up and let them do it. Either way, she should not have her own prime time slot on MSNBC.

[Silent Type]

33. I think most viewers are smart enough not to be swayed by that. It's an important story.

[hotellanai1986]

102. My sisters and I agreed

These people were probably paid shills from the Trump org. My sorority sisters and I were visiting and watched it (yes, Kamala is our sister/member). We all thought it odd that so many Black folks would be that eager to be on television, voicing so many of the uneducated memes that Donnie has espoused. One would think they would be a bit reticent to be filmed being contrarians. It seemed like a set-up to add a little credence to the fake headlines of sooo many Black men turning toward Trump…. We shall see on Nov. 6 (or at 11:38 pm on Nov. 5).

[spooky3]

35. It is one thing to "hear" these viewpoints. But journalists

Have a responsibility to push back and raise questions, particularly when a statement involves facts rather than opinions.

[Silent Type]

37. I think they are entitled to their opinion. Then, viewers can decide what the think. I bet every

viewer will vote Harris.

[spooky3]

50. But they are not entitled to their own facts, as

Daniel Moynihan said.

And no one is entitled to TV exposure. They can have their unchallenged opinions privately.

[Silent Type]

52. As poster below noted, there were opposing facts further into video. I think viewers are smarter

and more perceptive than some people seem to think.

[SocialDemocrat61]

82. You would bet?

What is that based on? Do you know how every single viewer thinks?

[Silent Type]

87. Not this crud again. What do you think? Of course, I don't know what every viewer thinks. But I do bet vast majority

think what I said. "Bet" means I don't know for sure.

You don't agree, fine. Howsabout telling me/us what you don't agree with or what you think.

[SocialDemocrat61]

88. No

Bet means you’re fairly confident, so much so that you’re willing to wager money. Plus you said “every viewer”. I’m just wondering what gives someone such extraordinary insight as to who every viewer of a TV show will vote for.

As to what I think, I don’t know who the other viewers will vote for. Never claimed, or bet, that I did. I speak only for myself and not presume to speak for others.

[Silent Type]

89. I'm damn confident MSNBC/CNN viewers lean heavily Democratic. You don't like it, well state your opinion.

[SocialDemocrat61]

90. My opinion of the political leanings

of viewers of a cable channel are irrelevant. Unless I have some data about the channel’s viewers, I really don’t know. If you have some research or data, please share it.

[Lifeafter70]

36. If those that turned it off watched til the end

Their opinion may have been different. I didn't tune in until the later half so didn't hear the trump supporters. But I heard those that corrected them. At the end she introduced the local councilman who organized the event. He is a Harris supporter and part of her local campaign.

[Silent Type]

38. Good point.

[Keepthesoulalive]

76. The number is very small

Let’s discuss trump’s mental state, his threats, absolute nutcases running for the Senate and Congress. Did you know there’s a write in campaign for Good in Virginias 5th district. There are more important things than attention seekers. Every election it’s some nonsense to scare people black panthers, inner city crime , gangs, minority inclusion , reverse discrimination and migrants . Stop falling for republican bovine droppings , it’s damn tiring.

[cadoman]

78. the problem is the significance is created by the story -- it's not organic or factual

Talk to 10 random Black people and statistically speaking you might get "one" confused soul who supports TFG.

A proper format for a situation like this is to show one crazy Black supporter and between 9 and 19 sane progressives and independents telling them what a racist and fascist they are. Let Black voters know they are sure to be shamed and ostracized for supporting fascism.

The format as Wagner constructed it made it look like it's normal to support a KKK candidate over an accomplished Black woman. Wagner made herself look confused.

[Lifeafter70]

31. I didn't see the beginning of that segment

When I tuned in several men were calling them out on their bs. The young man who organized it is a local councilman, who is a Harris supporter and organizer for campaign. So I have a different take on it. Towards the end a young man stated that the only reason this was being discussed was because trump made a play for the "black male" vote. He also stated that those votes were secure for Harris.

[dchill]

32. She thinks we need to get scared straight.

She thinks we don't know the stakes.

We're already scared, and we know the stakes, Alex. You're just annoying. Read the room.

[onecaliberal]

34. Turn them off.

My stress level
Is so much lower.

[Trueblue Texan]

39. The ignorance they demonstrated was really scary...

I don't know what the benefit of showing these uninformed voters is.

[Xipe Totec]

43. Disappointed

I expected better from Rachel Maddow's alleged replacement.

[Bayard]

45. Not a fan

Glad I turned over to Star Trek, Next Gen.

[SocialDemocrat61]

49. Good episode?

[Bayard]

62. Yes

Actually, one I didn't recall, with the Kardasians.

[SocialDemocrat61]

72. Kim or Khloe?

Lol

[damifino10]

46. I'm Sorry

She is weak. Lets the lies just roll over her like they are the truth. No fact rebuttal. She is the wrong person for these interviews.

[slightlv]

55. There are enough strong women out there who are journalists, consultants, etc....

MSNBC should be highlighting and promoting them, and letting the "submissives" automatically sort themselves down to Fox, etc. I think we're all tired of seeing the male ideal of a woman highlighted, while the strong women are behind the scenes making everything happen. We need good role models for the young girls growing up now... we don't need their heads filled with the stuff that filled ours... like, no boy will like you if you're good in math; you have to keep your figure and your face perfect or you won't find a husband; play around with a job now, if you want, but be ready to give it up when you get married, and devote yourself to your marriage and your kids - that's your main job in life.

MSNBC should be accentuating these women. Women who don't need a man to be fulfilled, but also those strong women who view men as equal partners and engage in public with them on that level. Doing otherwise is a disservice to generations of young women, IMO.

[NoMoreRepugs]

51. Lightweight.

[BidenRocks]

53. I can't wait

for Kornacki.
My ballot is received and counted.
Thank you California!

[MiKenMi33]

54. Hoping she's replaced soon. I can't watch her.

I watch Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, and Katie Phang. I watch others occasionally, but I like these the most.

[yorkster]

61. I also dvr Ali Velshi on weekends. He is superb.

[MiKenMi33]

71. Yes! I DVR him too.

I was hoping they’d give him Rachel’s time slot when she left. I watched Alex for the first week and for whatever reason, I think I felt my blood pressure rising. I won’t watch her.

[CousinIT]

56. I switched the channel. It was batshit insane. Just NO. N/t

[usedtobedemgurl]

57. I left the room.

I could not take the racism, stupidity and misogyny. The stuff they were saying was wrong. And he would just as well see them dead, like he wants the Central Park 5. It turned my stomach. And, yes, the pack of correction was also sickening.

[NJCher]

58. I think it was offered up as

a way to show who the black voter is who is going for trump. If I recall, she brought that up at the beginning of the segment.

I mean, you must admit, such people are anomalies. So I said to myself that I would hear them out to see what their motivation was.

If I'm correct about her "premise" for the segment being simply to show who these voters are, then it would not be appropriate to ask them questions or straighten them out on screen.

Didn't take long--a minute or two--to see their problem is the same as any other trump voter. They are just ignorant. They don't have their facts straight, they suffer from misperceptions, and they seem damn proud of it. Who upthread said "willfully ignorant." Yeah: that.

[Klarkashton]

60. Platforming ignorance and plain stupidity is absurd.

What was the point of shit like that? NPR does this too.

[dawn5651]

63. i can't watch alex wagner there is something about the way she presents herself

and speaks ...so i wait until rachel is on monday nite.

[samsingh]

65. i changed the channel to CNN and got sick of their shit so changed to a rerun of the big bang theory

which i found to be a better use of my time.

[Jackrotten]

66. Take a few steps back

And read the replies in this thread. How does it strike you?

[Lulu KC]

97. How does it strike you?

I didn't see the show so it's hard for me to tell. You've made me curious.

[marble falls]

99. Great question.

[marble falls]

100. So how does it strike you?

[Sparkly]

106. Perplexing

Maybe I missed some 'other segments,' perhaps from reacting strongly to the ones that seemed so RNC-repetitive?

OTOH, I see people agreeing with my perspective.

I do understand the concept of presenting the viewpoints of the people who have been duped by the lies, but only if it's informative somehow. Otherwise, it's just torturous. I'd like to see interviews probing what caused them to believe these lies, what motivates them to continue to believe the lies when presented with the truth, what facts lead them to change their minds, and how -- from a certain messenger? Key words or references? Those are things I'd like to know. Just hearing recitations of the lies drives me up a wall!!

[walkingman]

67. We have some very ignorant people in this nation. They will get what they have coming to them in the end.

[Cheezoholic]

69. Well I thought she did great. Enlightening wasn't the point of the piece at all and I think that may have been missed

She was reporting on the contrarian voters that each party is trying to woo. The battle in PA as in most of the swing states is to try and peel away pieces of the other parties so called base. As Sen. Fetterman said, the magic is in the margins and she did a great job of showing who lives in those margins equally IMO.

For example besides the part mentioned in the OP she also devoted 2/3rds of the show to Democrats, Republicans openly voting for Democrats, Democratic candidates and speaking about the PA electorate with Sen. Fetterman Not to mention with a canvasser that stated she knew of many, mostly Republican women, who she believed would be silently voting for Harris/Walz once the curtain closed and at the beginning when speaking with one rural Republican voter for Harris/Walz who flat out said her and her husband kind of keep quiet around town.

That's what the piece was about, where are each of the parties trying to peel voters from the other party and how in PA.

Plus, when you are a reporter asking the opinion of voters directly, if you're a good reporter, you do not challenge or attempt to correct them, you just don't. She didn't challenge or attempt to correct anyone on either side on anything. If you want to ask people at a rally and challenge them that's one thing but not in this setting. The group of minority urban voters for the Felon welcomed her into their space, I'm sure full well knowing who she worked for and where her political leanings stand, and she had to respect that. I commend her for that. Alex has done pieces like this hundreds of times in her past life before MSNBC. She's truly a professional.

On that point, I think Alex belongs in the field and not behind a desk, it is her forte. If anyone would've watched The Circus anytime over the last 8 years you'd see that. She so very very often went into the hostile environments of Felon voters, of all shapes, sizes and colors btw, finding out why the hell they would vote for him by asking not telling, which is what a good reporter does.

As many said, they just shut it off because what they weren't hearing what they were wanting to hear and that's everyone's prerogative.

It is just irresponsible to think just because one is a a non-white urban minority they are a Democrat. It's just as irresponsible to assume someone with a beard and a camo baseball cap in a pickup truck is a Felon nut.

I'm actually surprised that there wasn't more of an uproar when John Favreau said the number of yard signs really don't mean diddly

[hlthe2b]

77. Alex Wagner evokes the need to be liked. She doesn't counter. She doesn't correct. She doesn't allow herself to

be in any way the contrarian... because she is desperate to be liked.

iT IS THAT which gives women anchors (especially, but also a few males), pundits, and yes, FIELD REPORTERS a bad name.

Nope. You can accuse all of us OF BEING IRRESPONSIBLE (shamefully, IMO), but we on this thread have a damned point--even if we disagree with your take.

If you want to watch someone scour for the most anti-Democratic voters and then give them free rein for an hour, TURN TO FOX! We don't need someone propagandizing and giving an audience to the most extreme views while suggesting this is the widespread view. Again, that is RW media 24/7. Do YOU really think this is the majority opinion that needs to be given voice sans any interjection whatsoever? It is THAT which is cowardly and irresponsible for a field journalist, IMO. If you saw the handoff to Lawrence O'Donnell afterward, I'd bet money that is what he was thinking as well. (He said absolutely NOTHING).

[yorkster]

92. I liked the way it wasn't a typical handoff.

Wagner's show ended and Lawrence began. Usually the handoff is too long
and a bit awkward.
This time she didn't "throw" to him.

[crimycarny]

95. NOPE--Two of those she interviewed are GOP running for office--including a "Moms of Liberty" candidate

Alex didn't disclose that two of the women she interviewed are GOP—one running for the PA House, another for Moms of Liberty. THAT should have been disclosed,

Link to tweet

[Sparkly]

107. What?!

[Johnny2X2X]

80. The road to fascism is paved with both siderism

It's like you have 50% of the media, no concerned at all with anything other than pushing Trump and his agenda, and then the other 50% is like, "Well, we better tell both sides of the story."

[travelingthrulife]

81. Consequence of the 24/7 'news' cycle.

They have to fill all that unnecessary time with something.

[Deminpenn]

83. First it was "soccer moms",

now it's AfAm men.

The media tendency has been to find some relatively small, swingy demographic and hyper-focus on it to death. Thus Wagner's show.

[Ursus Rex]

84. Yeahhh, I don't know what THAT was all about.

It was just letting them mouth lies and slander, wrapped in some kind of "let them use their voice" kind of thing. Quit giving them airtime.

[milestogo]

86. I never watch her.

Huge disappointment after Rachel in that slot.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

93. I am glad that I skip her show last night

[claudette]

103. Never did

like her much. After that. Like her less.