Former Breitbart spokesperson Kurt Bardella appeared on MSNBC’s AM Joy on Saturday and spoke to host Joy Reid about the impeachment probe into Donald Trump and how Democrats are handling it. According to Bardella, Democrats “should start fighting fire with fire.”
“Every time they say Hunter Biden, why are they not responding with ‘Well, what about Jared Kushner? What about Ivanka Trump? What about Donald Trump’s tax returns?’” Bardella asked.
“Every time they say that this is a rigged hearing, a rigged show, why are they not played soundbites of Republicans like Jim Jordan, and Mark Meadows, and Louie Gohmert when they were all for congressional oversight in hearings and subpoenas when they were investigating Barack Obama?”
The former Republican suggested that there are plenty of soundbites that would show members of the GOP like Jordan, Meadows, and Gohmert supporting the authority of Congress that Bardella implies they are now fighting in defense of Trump. His views echo Independent Justin Amash, who believes the GOP has abandoned its principles in favor of supporting the president.
Bardella left Breitbart after one of the publication’s editors, Michelle Fields, was allegedly assaulted by Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who held his position from January 2015 to June 2016. Following the incident, Breitbart News appeared doubtful of Fields’ allegations, which prompted Bardella to leave and publicly criticize the outlet not long afterward. He later revealed that Trump makes him feel embarrassed to be a Republican, foreshadowing his future leap into the Democratic Party.
I told @JoyAnnReid this morning on @amjoyshow RT if you agree – Democrats need to start fighting fire with fire. Every time they say Hunter Biden, why aren’t they responding with what about Jared Kushner, what about @IvankaTrump , what about @realDonaldTrump ‘s tax returns? #AMJOY pic.twitter.com/UO9b29ojx4
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) December 14, 2019
The Washington, D.C. journalist made a complete break from right-wing politics when he left the Republican Party following the party’s endorsement of Roy Moore, an American politician who was accused of sexually assaulting underage girls. A year later, Bardella wrote an op-ed for USA Today describing his first year as a Democrat and how it differed from his time in the Republican Party.
Bardella revealed that while Democrats often talk about the environment, he never once heard Republicans discuss climate change in social conversation in a serious manner. Bardella added that the same is true for racial inequality, sexism, social injustice, and gun-law reform.
“As a Republican, I just never talked about these things, but as a Democrat, I talk about them all the time,” he wrote.
Bardella also noted that his approach to issues of race is the most significant change he has experienced, saying that he spent the majority of his life avoiding the conversation around race and rejecting his Asian-American heritage.
