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PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton is a one-hour political talk show broadcast on MSNBC, hosted by Al Sharpton. It began on August 29, 2011 on MSNBC's weekday 6 PM slot,[1] the first time that the slot had been occupied by a branded series since January 2011.

In August 2015, it was announced that the series would move to just once a week on Sundays at 8AM starting on October 4, 2015. The series aired its final weekday episode on September 4, 2015.[2]

PoliticsNation was the formal renaming of the 6 PM weekday slot that had been occupied by a broadcast named MSNBC Live (sharing the same "generic" title as the primary morning-to-afternoon rolling-news program primarily staffed by anchors.) Sharpton had served as host of the slot since July, and was preceded by Cenk Uygur from January to June. Prior to Uygur, the slot had been occupied by The Ed Show from April 6, 2009 to January 24, 2011 (eventually moving to the 10 PM slot following Keith Olbermann's departure from MSNBC), and by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue from March 17, 2008 (as Race to the White House) to April 3, 2009.

Sharpton's involvement with MSNBC began after June 29, 2011 when he became the primary substitute host for The Ed Show, leading to press speculation that Sharpton could attain his own series on the network in the vein of Rachel Maddow (who attained her own series in 2008 after serving as Keith Olbermann's primary substitute host on Countdown with Keith Olbermann), Lawrence O'Donnell (who attained his own series in 2010 after having served as Olbermann's primary substitute host) and Christopher Hayes (who attained his own weekend series beginning in mid-September 2011 after having served as a regular fill-in for both Maddow and O'Donnell).

After beginning his appearances as substitute host for Ed Schultz, conservative commentators and outlets slammed MSNBC's decision to hire Sharpton as a contributor (and even more so after becoming host of what became PoliticsNation); EURweb cited mockery of Sharpton by such conservative outlets as Breitbart.tv[3] in particular, doubts were raised by at least one member of the National Association of Black Journalists about Sharpton's ability to host a credible political talk show following past controversial comments, and criticism by African-American journalists raised the possibility of MSNBC having hired Sharpton in order to draw ratings. In response, Tamika Mallory, executive director of the National Action Network (which is headed by Sharpton as president) rebutted many of the criticisms in an editorial for TV One's NewsOne website, and also likened black criticism of MSNBC's decision to "crabs in a barrel".[4]

Sharpton's style of delivery, verbalized understanding of topics on PoliticsNation and a live flub with the teleprompter have been the subject of parody, especially on NBC series Saturday Night Live with Kenan Thompson playing Sharpton. It was the subject of a December 10, 2011 skit parodying the flub[5] as well as a May 19, 2012 skit with guest star Mick Jagger as a JPMorgan Chase executive.[6] Sharpton himself enjoyed the skits, and had Thompson on his show in February 2015. Sharpton returned the favor by appearing on SNL in March 2016.

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PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton - Wikipedia

JUNE 13--The not-for-profit social justice organization headed by Rev. Al Sharpton paid the New York activist a whopping $437,555 bonus--on top of his $250,000 salary--according to the groups most recent tax return submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.

The hefty payment to Sharpton was revealed in a filing by the National Action Network, the Harlem-based group Sharpton founded nearly 25 years ago. The organizations 2016 tax return, which Sharpton signed in November 2017, disclosed the one-time bonus to the 63-year-old civil rights leader.

According to its tax return, the National Action Network works within the spirit and tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and promotes an agenda that includes an equal standard of justice and decency for all people regardless of race. Sharpton, who serves as the groups president and CEO, spends an average of 40 hours a week working for the organization, according to the tax return.

The Christian activist social justice organization has 34 employees and 125 volunteers and reported $5.821 million in revenue in 2016 (the most recent year for which financial records have been made public). Expenses for 2016 totaled $5.817 million.

Sharptons 2016 base salary was $250,000. The bonus payment ballooned his total compensation to $687,555.

In justifying the bonus, the National Action Network--which Sharpton controls--told the IRS that, over the past 25 years, Sharpton had periodically declined compensation to ensure that the organization had sufficient operating funds to fulfill its payroll obligations and maintain ongoing operations. The organization added that it had previously received the services of the President and CEO without fully compensating for his services.

Additionally, the group recognizes that it did not offer any retirement or benefit package to the President and CEO in contrast to most peer organizations that do offer retirement or benefit packages.

In a move to rectify this purported shorting of Sharpton, the organization provided him with a "one-time bonus" of $437,555. This retroactive payout was meant to address prior compensation that was declined or not fully compensated.

The tax return offers no specifics as to how the $437,555 figure was arrived at or whose idea the payment was.

In fact, the organization itself noted that its Board/Executive Committee recognizes that developing a formal approach to compensating the President and CEO...would be an appropriate action to take at this time. To that end, the group reported commissioning a comparability study with regard to the compensation of Sharpton and Michael Hardy, the Sharpton sidekick who serves as the organizations $150,000-a-year general counsel.

Until recent years, the National Action Networks finances were a shambles, thanks to Sharptons mismanagement of the group. At one point, the organization owed federal, state, and city tax authorities nearly $2 million for unpaid payroll taxes and related penalties and interest. Subsequent negotiations with the IRS substantially cut the groups federal debt. In 2015, a payroll tax liability of nearly $800,000 was wiped from the organizations balance sheet.

The organizations finances were once so precarious that Sharpton himself lent the National Action Network hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to the 2016 tax return, the groups debt to its founder is now only $4056.

In addition to his compensation, Sharptons hefty expenses--first class air travel, luxury hotels, and a chauffeured car--are covered by the National Action Network. While Sharpton has an office at the groups leased Harlem headquarters, he often works from a midtown Manhattan office rented by the not-for-profit.

Until his August 2015 demotion, Sharpton hosted a daily show on MSNBC. His PoliticsNation program now airs on Sundays at 8 AM. (3 pages)

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Rev. Al Sharpton Gave Himself A $437,555 "Bonus" | The ...

Donald Trump is on course to be re-elected in 2020 because those in the current crop of potential Democratic presidential candidates are too tame to deal with an untamed opponent, one of the partys key power-brokers has said.

Speaking to a group of Guardian journalists following a visit to 10 Downing Street and a session with black MPs, the Rev Al Sharpton warned that the likely challengers to Trump are failing to galvanise opposition to the president. Theyve lost the ability to dramatise. He [Trump] understands spectacle and drama and they dont.

What was the civil rights movement if not drama? Martin Luther King was the master of street theatre

Citing the current controversy over migrant parents being separated from their children, the veteran civil rights leader said Democratic would-be candidates should be right there, getting themselves arrested by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

What was the civil rights movement if not drama? Martin Luther King was the master of street theatre. No one would have listened if he just gave speeches.

In a wide-ranging and candid conversation, Rev Sharpton expressed his fear that this lack of leadership could lead to disappointment in the midterm elections in November. Landslide wins for Democrats would take a mobilisation that he had not yet seen, he said. You cant just announce a wave, you have to organise a wave.

As to who might take on Trump in 2020, he said that Oprah Winfrey could beat Trump in a heartbeat, speaking especially to poorer voters: Shes been broke longer than shes been rich, he said. But he suspected the TV star and entrepreneur was not keen to run. Former vice president Joe Biden would enjoy strong black support, Sharpton said, not least because he covered [Barack] Obamas back for eight years.

He noted that Bernie Sanders struggled to win African-American backing in 2016 because he could only see class, not race and class. He said Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, tipped as the possible standard bearer of the Democratic left, might fare better as she was more readily attuned to the racial dimension. But overall, he believed the current Democratic field was lacklustre and too easily distracted by Trumps bizarre and theatrical shenanigans.

Democrats needed to pay less attention to the presidents tweets or the latest twists in Robert Muellers probe into collusion with Russia, Sharpton said, and craft instead a message based on rights, jobs and healthcare. You got to get the message right; then youll get the messenger. He added that waiting for Trump to self-destruct is not a political strategy.

The longtime campaigner and baptist minister also had stern words for the activists of the Black Lives Matter movement. Where are Black Lives Matter now? You gave Obama hell, but where are you all now with Trump?

Warning that civil rights once thought safe were again under threat, he cited Mondays ruling by the Supreme Court in favour of a Colorado baker who had refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple on religious grounds. This was one of the worst civil rights decisions Ive seen in my lifetime, Sharpton said, warning that once homophobic discrimination was allowed, sexist and racist discrimination would be next.

On Wednesday, following a meeting with black MPs, Sharpton visited 10 Downing Street to speak to Theresa Mays adviser on race issues, Nero Ughwujabo. Afterwards, Sharpton praised Mays establishment of a race disparity audit, measuring the effect of ethnicity on life chances in the UK, saying it was an approach he hoped to take back to the US.

But his admiration for the UK was not total. Referring to last months royal wedding, he said the picture of inclusion created by the addition of a woman of a colour to the royal family did not reflect the reality of a country that had also been rocked by the Windrush scandal.

As for Trump himself, Sharpton had concluded that the evidence of the presidents racism was now too overwhelming to dispute. You dont have to keep a white hood under the pillow, he said, citing Trumps baseless claim that Obama had not been born in the US and the presidents praise for neo-Nazi marchers in Charlottesville last year as very fine people.

But he urged opponents of racism and xenophobia in the US, Europe and beyond not to lose heart. My message to the resistance movement globally is, dont panic, but dig in.

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Rev Al Sharpton: Democrats 'too tame to deal with Trump ...

Al Sharpton / Getty Images

BY: Alex GriswoldJune 6, 2018 5:33 pm

Unless Democrats toughen up and fight Donald Trump on his own terms, the Republican president could be on track to be reelected, civil rights leader and MSNBC host Al Sharpton said Wednesday.

Sharpton was in London to speak to black parliamentarians and an advisor to Prime Minister Teresa May, when he took questions from a group of Guardian U.K. reporters about his thoughts on the upcoming presidential election.

The Guardian reported the MSNBC host told them "Donald Trumpis on course to be re-elected in 2020" because all the rumored Democratic candidates are "too tame to deal with an untamed opponent."

"Theyve lost the ability to dramatize," Sharpton said. "He [Trump] understands spectacle and drama and they dont."

Sharpton called on Democratic candidates to get arrested protesting U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers where they were housing migrant children. "What was the civil rights movement if not drama? Martin Luther King was the master of street theatre. No one would have listened if he just gave speeches," he said.

The only candidate Sharpton thought could take on Trump at the moment was a woman who claims she has no interest in running for president: Oprah Winfrey. "Shes been broke longer than shes been rich," he said, adding she "could beat Trump in a heartbeat."

Like other Democratic commentators, Sharpton warned the party needed to run on more than just special prosecutor Robert Mueller's Russia investigation if it wants to beat Trump. He argued Democrats should instead focus on concrete issues like "rights, jobs and healthcare. You got to get the message right; then youll get the messenger."

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Al Sharpton: Democrats Are 'Too Tame,' Could Lose to Trump ...

Civil rights icon and television commentator the Rev. Al Sharpton visited Sacramento Wednesday to meet with the California Legislative Black Caucus about the police shooting of Stephon Clark.

Clark was shot by two Sacramento officers on March 18 after police apparently mistook his cellphone for a gun.

Clark's death led to massive protests in Sacramento and drew international attention. Sharpton was last in Sacramento for Clark's funeral on March 29 at Bayside of South Sacramento Church, where he gave the eulogy, vowing, "We will never let you forget the name of Stephon Clark until we get justice."

Sharpton said Wednesday his visit was part of that promise to continue to advocate on the incident, and he was joined on the Capitol steps by Stevante Clark, brother of Stephon Clark.

"We are not going to let this issue go," Sharpton said.

The California Legislative Black Caucus is a group of senators and Assembly members that advocates on issues and legislation affecting social, economic and educational justice in communities of color.

In the wake of the Clark shooting, the caucus is supporting AB 931, the Police Accountability and Community Protection Act, which would tighten restrictions on when officers can use deadly force. The bill was written by two members of the Black Caucus Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, and Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento.

Sharpton said he also met with representatives of public pension funds to advocate for more investments through minority financial managers.

While in Sacramento, Sharpton also offered an opinion on an NFL decision to prohibit players from kneeling during the national anthem.

"I felt it was a stunning rebuke of the American Constitution," Sharpton said of the NFL action. "It is a dangerous precedent."

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Al Sharpton on May 24, 2018 met with black legislators in ...