Lawrence O'Donnell's patience for Edward Snowden appears to be growing short.
On Wednesday, the NSA whistleblower delivered the UK Channel 4's "Alternative Christmas Message," addressing the issue of U.S. national surveillance, claiming that "a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all."
The next night on his own MSNBC show, O'Donnell shot back, saying he found many of Snowden's claims "absurd" and hard to believe. He said that Snowden's message fell right in line with his tendency to exaggerate the government's capabilities, calling attention to his references to George Orwell's 1984.
"Every time he speaks--every time--he will say things that are absurdly, wildly, overblown," O'Donnell said Thursday night. "I find it odd that every time he speaks he says provably untrue things."
O'Donnell's comments came one day after Glenn Greenwald appeared on the network to defend Snowden's actions and his Christmas message. O'Donnell took a very different stance, calling many of Snowden's comments "so completely impossible."
"He says that the government is quote--these are his words-- 'watching everything we do.' That is, of course, impossible. No one is watching everything we do. That capacity doesn't exist."
"To say that this is worse than 1984 means you never read 1984," guest speaker Joy Reid added. "There are no televisions from the government in our homes watching us. They haven't outlawed sex.... They haven't outlawed speaking against the government.... So it is absurd, because it is in his own mind.
Watch the video for the full segment on "The Last Word."