Mike Barnicle blasts Trump for ‘mentally ill rant’ on election

MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle on Thursday blasted President Trump for what he called a “mentally ill rant” the day before on the 2020 election, as Trump digs in on his refusal to concede.

The president ranted about voter fraud for 46 minutes in a prerecorded speech posted to Facebook on Wednesday, making unsubstantiated claims about the election being stolen from him and wrongly claiming that he triumphed in key battleground states that he actually lost. 

During an appearance on “Morning Joe,” co-host Mika Brzezinski called the address a “diatribe full of lies,” and asked how far Republicans were willing to go protect Trump and if they would have any credibility when they leave the stage.

Barnicle ripped the president, who he said has “walked away from a quarter of a million Americans dead” due to the coronavirus. He said the country wants real leadership, like the kind former President George W. Bush gave after the 9/11 terror attacks.

“The question now … is where are the Republicans?” Barnicle asked. “Where are the Republican United States senators who perhaps heard of or listened to that 46-minute mentally ill rant last night from the president?”

“Anyone who listened or heard what Donald Trump said last night and were commissioned by the people of their states to represent the state and the country who did not think ‘maybe we should go down and take this away from him,’ invoke the 25th Amendment before more damage is done,” Barnicle said. “Where are these people?”

The president is becoming more isolated in his refusal to accept the outcome of the election.

The list of Republicans breaking with him over his assertions of voter fraud or acknowledging the victory of President-elect Joe Biden is growing longer.

Meanwhile, Republican state officials have begun raising concerns about Trump’s attacks on the voting process, accusing him of putting those who oversee elections in danger.

The latest break came from Attorney General William Barr, who said on Tuesday that there is no evidence of systemic voter fraud of the kind that would alter the outcome.