Former GOP operative turned MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace told Seth Meyers she “hates the gaslighting of MAGA” Tuesday night on Late Night, but that Donald Trump’s supporters do it because “they think it’s worth it.”
“If this man swaying for 39 minutes floats your boat, knock yourself out,” she told Meyers, “but if you’re gonna watch it and I know from the people I used to try to win over on Twitter, they watch—it was 39 minutes,” she continued, referencing the ex-president’s extended dance party during a town hall Q&A, where he swayed to his track list on stage for nearly an hour instead of taking questions from the audience.
“If you want to tell yourself that’s OK,” Wallace said, trailing off and explaining what she really thinks is happening instead. “I don’t even think they think that’s okay—they think it’s worth it for some deep rage” they identify with Trump, “But it isn’t worth it.”
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Wallace, who worked on the campaigns of Bush in 2004 and McCain in 2008 but broke rank with Republicans after Trumpism took over the Republican Party, said Trump’s recent New York rally Sunday at Madison Square Garden was another example of how dark MAGA has changed the landscape of politics.
“I’m so mad that I can still be devastated” at the vitriol, she said of Trump’s hate-filled rally. “I’m devastated that people were cheering for that stuff—just gutted. Because I think it’s really hard to hate up close.” She added that the rally showed why the upcoming election is so significant.
“I was never scared before an Election Night, ever,” she said, “This is the first non-partisan election in my lifetime—maybe ever,” she said, citing Harris’ campaigning with the Cheneys. “Voting for Hillary Clinton was very easy. Voting for Joe Biden was a pleasure, voting for Kamala Harris feels like an emergency.”
As for what she thinks will happen, Wallace said there’s no clear answer. “I think the polls might be right, it might be tight. People should vote like it’s tied and the polls are all correct.”
For more, listen to Seth Meyers on The Last Laugh podcast.
