New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney reminisced about “really pure” MDMA, the drug also known as ecstasy or molly, while appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday.
“I would also go with 1986, the worst year for the Red Sox. I was at [the University of Virginia]. The MDMA was really pure,” said Maloney, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“I went all kinds of places only Mike Barnicle might appreciate,” he added, referencing the regular MSNBC contributor.
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The mention of the drug prompted surprised reactions from the panel.
“Oh my gosh.”
“Wow. OK.”
“So much sharing this morning,” remarked co-anchor Willie Geist.
“Just being honest,” Maloney said.
Banter on the political morning show about generational culture icons combined with a play on Maloney calling political attacks “potent” set the stage for the strange remark.
Ahead of the segment, host Joe Scarbrough had been asking guests which year they were personally “locked into,” along with movies and other cultural artifacts that defined such eras.
Maloney was then brought on to talk about a Politico story on internal Democratic research revealing that voters find Republican culture war attacks on Democrats, such as rebutting calls to defund the police and combating critical race theory, very effective. The DCCC chairman called the attacks “alarmingly potent,” a phrase Politico highlighted in the headline.
“I think there may be some mistake. When I used the term ‘alarmingly potent,’ I was talking about Barnicle’s supply,” Maloney joked, again referring to the longtime contributor.
Barnicle had said earlier in the show that he was a “grower,” and other panelists and hosts teased him about it. “I was importing stuff from Taiwan and Saigon and everything else. It was huge,” Barnicle said.
Joe Scarborough said when he was in high school, he used to look down on people like Barnicle.
The conversation set the stage for Maloney to dive into talking about the aforementioned drugs and the cultural turning points in his own life.
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“I’m kind of going with ’84, Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A., senior year of high school. Painting houses was probably the height of my professional career at that moment. The happiest, best tan I’ve ever had, some lifeguarding on the side,” Maloney said.
The DCCC and Maloney’s House office did not respond to requests for comment.
