Joy Reid Says Trump Likes to ‘Ritually Humiliate People Like Tim Scott’: ‘Wants to See His Former Rivals Grovel’

MSNBC host Joy Reid said former President Donald Trump wanted to “ritually humiliate people like Tim Scott” who challenged him for the Republican nomination on Tuesday, after Trump appeared on stage with both Scott and former rival Vivek Ramaswamy.

During his New Hampshire primary victory speech, Trump railed against his Republican primary rival Nikki Haley as Scott, her former ally, laughed awkwardly behind him. Trump went on to tell Scott, “You must really hate her,” pointing out that it was Haley who appointed Scott to the Senate in December 2012.

“The humiliation is so naked at this point, to ask Tim Scott to go up and directly sort of demean the person who gave him his Senate seat in 2012,” weighed in MSNBC host Alex Wagner on Tuesday evening.

Reid replied:

Remember when he was president, one of the things he loved to do was to force people to ritually praise him or to ritually humiliate them, and I think that he saw this night as just a night to ritually humiliate people like Tim Scott. Maybe Vivek had to get up there and grovel. Like literally he just wants to see his former rivals grovel.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes then referenced the moment when Trump invited Ramaswamy to speak on the condition that he do so “in a minute or less.”

Hayes concluded, “Even when he said ‘we’re gonna put one minute on the clock,’ it’s like I’m gonna make sure that you know your place.”