MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan criticized former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for not going after those the host deemed were GOP “crazies” sooner.
“The reason we are where we are today is because these ‘old-school Republicans’ didn’t stand up to the crazies. They embraced them, however uneasily,” Hasan said on the network’s Friday episode of “All In.”
“Now the crazies are ascendant, and John Boehner wants to be celebrated for calling them crazy,” Hasan said. “Well, too little too late.”
Hasan’s comments come after excerpts from Boehner’s upcoming book, “On The House: A Washington Memoir,” reveal the former Speaker slamming prominent members of the GOP such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
During an audiobook reading of his new memoir, Boehner offered unscripted asides. In particular, he told Cruz to “go f— yourself.”
Hasan claimed Friday that Boehner wants Americans to seek a “simpler time” in politics.
“John Boehner wants us to pine for a simpler time where Republican politicians were not conspiracy theorists or actively working to subvert democracy,but rather simple, hardworking corporate stooges,” Hasan said.
Hasan added that Boehner “helped usher” the “crazies” into positions of power by backing members of the Tea Party during his time in Congress, including former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).
Hasan claimed that Bachmann was “the Marjorie Taylor Greene of her time.”
Greene, a Republican congresswoman from Georgia, has become a controversial figure in American politics. The conservative firebrand has previously voiced her support for the QAnon conspiracy theory and has made controversial remarks regarding the LGBT community, among other things.
She is also a prominent supporter of former President Trump and has repeated allegations of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election, claims that have been debunked by several state and federal elections officials.
Boehner also recently called Bachmann a “lunatic” and denounced Fox News host Sean Hannity, calling him a “nut.”
Boehner’s book is set to be released April 13.