This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 20 episode of "Morning Joe."
You look at the first night of the Democratic National Convention and you just can’t calculate that. You can’t fake that level of joy. People are either enjoying themselves and are happy or they’re not.
As for the Republican ticket, you have two candidates — who at least publicly — project misery. They’re not happy. They’re always looking for retribution. They’re looking for people to blame. They’re looking for a reason to be upset. They’re looking for a reason to resent.
As for the Republican ticket, you have two candidates — who at least publicly — project misery.
It couldn’t be more different for the Democrats. I swear, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. As a Republican, I thought it was just too easy to beat Democrats because they’re afraid to have a good time. They’re afraid to be joyful.
But what Republicans watching at home feared the most Monday night was not just the joy radiating from the crowd, but also their chants of “USA, USA, USA.”
Why did that message ring true at the DNC? Because the Republican Party has sold itself to a man who lies about America. A man who says we’re a nation in decline, a nation of losers, that we’re on the verge of collapse. That is not true. The data doesn’t bear it out, economically, militarily, culturally, socially — in every way.
This is a great country. That’s why the Democratic Party is cheering and those cheers give them a hell of a contrast with the presidential candidate on the Republican side who talks down about America every day on the stump.