MSNBC Panel: ‘Fascinating’ to Watch Men of the Dem Party Model the 21st Century Masculinity

WAGNER: “ — trying to own masculinity in the most regressive, sort of misogynist way possible, JD Vance lecturing everybody on, you know, what a family means, what it means to be man, Donald Trump obviously has his own version of manhood, to see Tim Walz out there as a man who is just joyfully embracing his role as a potential vice president to the nation’s first female president is an extraordinary thing. But also to see his son weeping for his father in a deeply tender and emotional way. And the last thing I will say, to see Democrats champion men as voices on reproductive choice, as you saw yesterday, I believe, from Amanda Zurawski’s husband, to tonight from Tim Walz talking about struggles with infertility, it takes two partners to get pregnant. And for way too long, this conversation has been relegated to women or the carriers of pregnancies. And it is, I think, way overdue to have men express, not only their stake in all this, but also their anguish. And to have a football coach talk about the anguish of infertility, I think opens up a whole new conversation about the stakes at hand for 2024.”
Reid: “And by the way, I love that you’re saying that because this is about modern masculinity. In the Democratic Party, the coach that is saying it’s important for him as a football coach to be the faculty partner for the LGBTQ club — “
WAGNER: “The gay-straight alliance.”
Reid: “ — the gay-straight alliance, he’s like, ‘That’s something important for me to do because if a coach is doing it, it will have just a little more salience and it will help kids not get bullied.’ I mean, what’s really been fascinating is to watch the men of the Democratic Party model a kind of masculinity that is certainly 21st century masculinity.”
WAGNER: “Speaking of 21st century masculinity — “
(Laughter)
Reid: “How about that as a setup?”
WAGNER: “How about that? We’ve got Senator Cory Booker, the 21st century man himself. Senator Booker, tonight was your night as chairing the event. We’re talking about this kind of redefinition of masculinity in the wake of the Republican National Convention that offered a very reductive vision to the country. What did you make of Coach Walz tonight?”
BOOKER: “You know, there’s a deep decency and kindness about him. And I said this to somebody, it actually is the perfect handoff because the Joe Biden I got to know during the 2020 presidential campaigns, I always say, ‘When somebody’s nice to you, but they’re nice to the waiter, they’re not a nice person.’”
WAGNER: “Real talk.”