MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tried to use President Trump’s more than $800 billion stimulus package request as a means of justifying the massive price tag on the Green New Deal proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and others in February of 2019, but instead of pulling the fast one he intended, he got a lesson in basic math from Republican senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Hayes retweeted a tweet from Fox News’ John Roberts speaking of the stimulus package request Tuesday, and added his own comment claiming that if Congress had the potential to approve such a sum as the president was requesting, they could surely find the funds necessary to fuel the Green New Deal as he wrote, “BREAKING: We can, of course, afford a Green New Deal. That’s been true all along.”
Now, given that AOC herself has admitted that the Green New Deal, which seeks to fundamentally reorganize American society and industry, would require at least $10 trillion in spending, Hayes is off in his estimate by a significant margin. That margin becomes quite a bit larger when you add in the fact a study published in February of 2019 revealed that close to $95 trillion could be required.
Not to worry, though, for Senator Cruz came galloping through the web on his white steed of code, and swung his mighty Twitter sword at the ugly dragon of mathematical incompetence, proclaiming, “$800 billion is not equal to $93 trillion. Even on MSNBC.”
Looking back on the blunders of those such as MSNBC’s Brian Williams and the New York Times’ Mara Gay, it would appear math is not the easiest subject for MSNBC hosts to wrap their heads around.