The panel on MSNBC’s The Weekend was deeply upset on Sunday after learning about a secret event Donald Trump hosted at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday night. During this event, Trump honored John Eastman, the lawyer who worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The event, which was not announced beforehand, kept the press out and was described as highly secretive.
According to NBC News reporter Vaughan Hillyard, details of the event were leaked, revealing that Trump praised Eastman and showed clips highlighting Eastman’s attempts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence into refusing to certify the 2020 election. Trump reportedly told attendees, “I’m a big fan of John Eastman. He was right. They said he couldn’t do it, convinced him he couldn’t do it, and then after the election, they changed the law to make sure he couldn’t.”
Michael Steele, one of the show’s co-hosts, questioned the purpose of the event, asking, “What was the point of this gathering? Was it just to provoke people, or is it a sign of things to come?”
Hillyard explained that the event included not just Eastman but also several controversial figures involved in the efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. These included Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor; Jeffrey Clark, who tried to use the Department of Justice to support election fraud claims; Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer; and Peter Navarro, who was jailed for refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the January 6th Capitol riot. A documentary about Eastman’s efforts was also shown at the event.
Co-host Symone Sanders Townsend reacted strongly, calling the gathering “sickening.” She said, “I feel sick hearing about this. Peter Navarro, Jeffrey Clark, and others went to extreme lengths to fight against the U.S. government because the former president lied to them. These people are not heroes or patriots.”
She went on to say, “What Trump did last night is a disgrace to America and the Constitution. The fact that they kept it a secret shows they knew it was wrong, but they still chose to do it. It’s an insult to democracy.”
The panel emphasized that this event highlights Trump’s ongoing efforts to celebrate those who supported his attempts to overturn the election and questioned what this could mean for the future.
