The final US presidential debate was last night, and Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump sparred on Mosul, Russia, and a plethora of other topics. But the debate had foreign policy commentator and noted neoconservative Bill Kristol up in arms. A frequent commentator on US policy in the Middle East, Kristol is a notable #NeverTrump Republican. Distressed at the possibility of Trump – a fiery critic of US foreign policy in the region – being president, Kristol lost it on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today.
The incident started when Kristol called Trump’s victory in the Republican primary a “fluke.” Co-host Mika Brzezinski pointed out that he won the election outright. Kristol took it personally, saying “you feel great that the Republican party nominated a guy who’s really a bad guy as president,” visibly upset. Co-host Joe Scarborough pointed this out to Kristol, saying “you’re practically crying” after Kristol accused MSNBC of not being tough on Trump.
It’s strange that Kristol would accuse a show on MSNBC – often perceived as having a liberal bias – of being too soft on Trump. Scarborough, like Kristol, is a #NeverTrump Republican.
The video does not appear to be on MSNBC’s YouTube channels, but can be watched here.
Kristol was lambasted by pro-Trump tweeters afterwards.
Neoconservatives, who support US interventions in the Middle East to fight jihadist groups, regime change efforts, and a more assertive foreign policy, are naturally critical of Trump. Trump has criticized the Iraq war, and said the Syrian regime of president Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran and Russia are fighting Daesh (ISIS). Neoconservatives are usually critical of those three actors.
