MSNBC Contributor Implies Iowa Turnout Would Be Higher if White Kids Were in Cages

Zerlina Maxwell, an MSNBC commentator, was on this morning with Craig Melvin. They were discussing last night’s Iowa Democrat caucus, of which the results have not yet been released.

A graphic showing the number of first time caucus-goers is put up, showing that the percentage of first time caucus-goers dropped from 44% in 2016 to 35% in 2020, a 9% drop. Melvin says, “Democrats have relied on Trump as a motivator” of their base. This drop shows less first time caucus-goers. Craig Melvin askes his guests, “should that concern Democrats?”

Maxwell chimes in, “yes, but I think for a different reason.” Maxwell clarifies she may be the only one with this viewpoint, then dives into her commentary.

“The Iowa caucus is essentially the perfect example of systemic racism. 91% of the voters in Iowa are white. The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages. So when you’re talking about the tangible pain that black and brown people are feeling, they feel a sense of urgency because their kids are being put in cages, right? So if you have 91% white electorate, that sense of urgency may not be reflected in the turnout numbers. I’m not saying that’s the reason for this. It could be a factor.” You can see her comments in the Daily Caller tweet below:

MSNBC’s @ZerlinaMaxwell:

“The Iowa caucus is the perfect example of systemic racism. 91% of the voters in Iowa are white. The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages…”pic.twitter.com/OCg2Dg8e7y

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 4, 2020

It appears Maxwell is saying that the Democrat failure to motivate new Democrats to caucus in Iowa is because the Iowain electorate is mostly white. Iowa is only the first state to choose delegates for the Democratic National Convention, so it remains to be seen if this will hold true for other states with different demographics.