Morning Joe Panel Downplays NY Times Report On Trump’s Treatment Of Women: “People Expect It”

Mike Barnicle: “You Wouldn't Want It Occurring To Your Daughter By A Guy, But It's Donald Trump ... People Expect It”

From the May 16 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

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JOE SCARBOROUGH (CO-HOST): What's the worst allegation of this explosive front page story? Name it.

MARK HALPERIN: I will comment on this in the spirit of Reince Priebus. If that's the best they got on these issues and Donald Trump, Donald Trump should be celebrating that story. There's some troubling things in the piece, but there's nothing illegal, there's nothing even kind of like beyond boorish or politically incorrect, which is built into the Donald Trump brand. So, if that's the best they have in this score, Donald Trump can celebrate this story politically.

SCARBOROUGH: So Mike Barnicle, I've got two stories -- and I did, I kept reading it. Because I was trying to figure out, what did he do? Because that's the lawyer in me. Ok, let's tear through it -- you tear through all the documents and then you go, they did this, they did this. I have two things. When he met somebody, he kissed them on the lips as a greeting. I will tell you --

MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): Donny does that to you all the time.

SCARBOROUGH: That's not a pleasant thing, but I'm serious, in the thousands and thousands and thousands of receptions I've had before, people have, women have come up and -- of all ages and kissed me on the lips. I don't like it, I wish they wouldn't have, but I wouldn't have run to The New York Times when they did it.

HALPERIN: And he denies it.

SCARBOROUGH: And he even denies it. And secondly, that he gave a woman a bathing suit to try on. I kid you not. That's the story.

MIKE BARNICLE: That was the lead probably.

SCARBOROUGH: He gave a woman a bathing suit to try on. Now, when this was unfolding, I expected that she was going to try it on in front of him and then he was going to --  Instead he goes, you look really good in that.

BARNICLE: Here's the deal on Donald Trump and that story.

SCARBOROUGH: I'm sorry, that's -- if this is their lead story on Sunday, explosive, above the fold, especially considering who he is running against, it's breathtaking.

BARNICLE: It's about 7,500 twills, that's an old of typewritten lines from the newspaper business, of things that are totally not surprising, because they have to do a Donald Trump. It's boorish behavior, you wouldn't want it occurring to your daughter by a guy, but it's Donald Trump. And when it comes to Donald Trump, it comes with the dinner. People expect it, they know it, they're not surprised. They're not even offended.

SCARBOROUGH: What's the most offensive thing that Donald Trump did in that piece?

HALPERIN: I think the most offensive thing, if true, is some of the comments he made in the workplace to his employees.

Related

Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private

Previously:

Media Repeatedly Pardon Trump Because He Is Not A “Conventional” Candidate

Trump’s “Women’s Card” Attack Against Hillary Clinton Comes From Right-Wing Media’s Playbook