Al Sharpton goes off on 'limousine liberals,' DC 'elites' ignoring crime: They 'don't live in the real world' | Fox News

MSNBC host Al Sharpton on Monday slammed the approach by Washington, D.C. "elites" and "limousine liberals" in reacting to the rising crime gripping cities across the U.S., declaring those that ignored the problem "don't live in the real world."

During an appearance on "Morning Joe," the left-wing host argued that Democrats were losing support from minorities because they didn't understand what it was like to live a life like those dealing with crime, rising inflation and record high gas prices.

Joe Scarborough and Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton appears alongside Joe Scarborough on the set of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on April 11, 2022 to discuss the midterm elections. (Screenshot/MSNBC) (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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The segment began as a panel discussion with hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough alongside Sharpton and a number of other political commentators discussing the issues facing Democrats as they prepared for the midterm elections in November.

The panel noted the difficulties facing the party as its unpopularity among voters stemming from its handling of the economy remained a major concern. 

Scarborough blasted liberal politicians in Washington over what he described as "a blind spot" on where voters actually stood on the political spectrum and warned that they were repeating the same mistakes of the past by pushing far-left policies when more moderate ones proved to win out.

"Let me say it slowly for my Democratic friends in Washington, D.C.: Black voters are more conservative than you are, White woke leaders in Washington, D.C. Hispanic voters are more conservative than you are, White woke leaders in Washington, D.C., Asian-American voters are more conservative than you are … They’re more conservative on crime, they’re more conservative on education, they’re more conservative on these woke issues," he said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

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Scarborough cited wins by a "moderate" Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primaries, as well as Eric Adams in the 2021 New York City mayoral election to reinforce his point that voters were not as liberal as many progressive Democrats would like.

Sharpton jumped in, agreeing with Scarborough and blasting the disconnect between the liberal "elites" across the country and minority voters feeling the brunt of the issues facing the country.

"They’re losing people of color because they really don’t get the people of color’s life. If you are living in a city, in a neighbor, that is inundated with crime, and you act like that’s not an issue you've already lost me. That is an issue," Sharpton said. "You cannot ignore when 12-year-old kids who is somebody’s niece and neighbor is killed, and you act like that's a nonissue because you're too elitist to live on the ground."

COLUMBUS, OHIO, UNITED STATES - 2021/08/01: Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children stand at the intersection of High Street and Broad Street while holding pictures of their deceased children. In reaction to the rising violence since 2020 Malissa Thomas-St. Clair, a mother of a murdered son, Anthony Thomas-St. Clair, founded Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children (MOMCC), an anti-violence group seeking to end violent crime in Columbus, Ohio. MOMCC led the effort for a Central Ohio Anti-Violence March & Rally at City Hall featuring many other mothers who lost children to violence, the Ceasefire initiative led by Al Edmondson and many other community and governmental leaders. The rally and March started off with many speakers, concluding a march around downtown, and a benediction by Pastor Michael Young. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

COLUMBUS, OHIO, UNITED STATES - 2021/08/01: Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children stand at the intersection of High Street and Broad Street while holding pictures of their deceased children in reaction to rising violence plaguing the city. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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"We don’t want to be manipulated by right-wing elitist billionaires or by left-wing guys that don’t understand our life on the ground that is living in fear of crime, that is living as a result of inflation that is killing us in many parts of the country. We need gas to go to work," he said. 

"These beltway elitists, these limousine liberals here in New York, don’t live in the real world and Blacks have to, and browns have to deal with the real world every day, and we don’t sit in crowded subways reading left-wing or right-wing propaganda," he added.