MSNBC’s Martin Bashir argued that the British people are excited over today’s birth of the royal baby because they need a morale boost to overcome the economic woes wrought by conservative fiscal policy.

Bashir even linked those woes to the Republicans in the U.S., arguing that the economic policies espoused by GOP congressmen Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy have been applied in the UK, resulting in high unemployment rates and low economic growth. “Part of the fascination with the royal baby has been because people have been so depressed by the economic circumstances in the United Kingdom that they’ve been looking up for some light relief,” Bashir said minutes after the birth was announced.