MSNBC's Morning Joe and Fox News' Fox & Friends were in agreement on Wednesday morning, with hosts on both shows happy with the presence of moderate Democrats on last night's debate stage.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who is now an independent, was downright shaken the morning after the first debate in June, declaring it a "disaster for the Democratic Party" while blasting candidates' "free-for-all immigration policies" and more. But he was a lot happier with this one, expressing gratitude on Wednesday that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) were "flanked on the wings by some moderates" who had a more "practical" and not an "overly utopian approach."
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In particular, Scarborough spent much of this segment criticizing Democrats who he views as going too far to the left with their health-care proposals, blasting the idea that ObamaCare was "somehow too conservative" and arguing that former President Obama "pushed America as far he could possibly push them." Later in the show, Scarborough again wondered how some of the more liberal Democrats' policies will play with Trump voters. "Let's get real for one second, politically," he said.
Meanwhile, Fox & Friends had a similar take, with Brian Kilmeade saying that "the biggest benefit to the Democrats last night were the moderates that pushed back on some of these wild policies before Donald Trump gets a hold of them," per Media Matters for America's Bobby Lewis. Ainsley Earhardt also praised former Maryland Rep. John Delaney for his attitude of, "Look, you've got to talk about what you can really pass," with Earhardt also saying Warren is like a candidate for student body president who promises, "'to put snack machines in every classroom.' It's not going to happen!"
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