As more video footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection comes to light, so, too, does the hypocrisy of various Republican politicians who claim one truth while experiencing another.
The latest example got “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough fired up Friday. Rep. Steve Scalise didn’t have the morning news host mincing words: “I couldn’t imagine … lying through my teeth on an issue,” he said.
Ever since the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., the actions of Speaker Nancy Pelosi have especially been brought into question, with former president Donald Trump, Rep. Scalise and others claiming that she should have done more to secure the building while under siege.
Those criticisms, however, hit a snag this week when never-before-seen footage of Pelosi calling in the National Guard went viral Friday. Scalise, it turns out, is shown in the footage as being an active witness to Pelosi’s efforts, as well.
“Wait a second, I’m so confused,” Scarborough said Friday “You know, I’m just a dumb country lawyer, but they asked the question after Steve Scalise had known the answer. So he said, ‘That’s a great question, why won’t they answer whether Nancy Pelosi called the National [Guard]. This is so terrible and they won’t answer.’ He was in the room, he was in the room where it happened, the room where it happened. I mean, come on.”
The co-host went on in the morning segment to accuse Scalise of “lying through your teeth” on the matter.
“I’m serious about this, I couldn’t imagine in a million years holding a press conference as a member of Congress, I was there, being that cynical, lying through my teeth on an issue — on any issue, but especially an issue of this importance,” Scarborough said.
“And even if for some reason I had fallen off a scooter the day before and I was dizzy, there would have literally been 12 people on my staff grabbing me saying, ‘You can’t do that, go back into your office, you need to tell them you’re not going to do this,’” he continued. “I don’t understand. All the barriers that were up when you and I were there, all the rules that were in place, just rules of common decency, not going out and lying through your teeth, my God, on issues this important.”
Watch the full segment in the video above.
