Toward the start of Thursday’s episode, the co-hosts rebuked articles written about them and their visit with Trump, arguing the claims made in these articles were “just false.” Scarborough went on to state that their visit was not hypocritical due to their past criticism of Trump, who they routinely called a “fascist.” He argued they visited Mar-a-Lago “to have an off-the-record comment” with him and that other media outlets did the same thing.
“That’s what reporters do, and by the way, guess what? That’s what I’ve been doing for years!” Scarborough said. “When I go speak to Middle East leaders on background, some who are not good people, guess what? I do it to get information and background to give it to you. I bet you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you ’cause it was a background conversation!”
Scarborough added that he and his wife, Brzezinski, unlike other media outlets, were trying to be “transparent” with their viewers in telling them that they were meeting with Trump. He also said he could understand why some viewers were taken aback by their visit with Trump, but media reports should not be surprised, nor should they condemn the couple over their visit.
“And let me say this, let me say this: you can do two things at the same time,” Scarborough said. “You can say he had fascist rhetoric and still go in and talk to him. You know why I do that? To get the read of the man!”
Prior to these comments, Scarborough vented against David Frum for writing a column about their visit with the president-elect. Brzezinski pushed back on Frum during Wednesday’s episode when he made a joke about Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, and his reports of alcoholism. Scarborough contended his wife was not coming to Hegseth’s defense but rather that Frum’s comment was out of line.
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Following the Morning Joe co-hosts’s visit with Trump, comedian Rosie O’Donnell said she would boycott the show going forward. She accused the couple of going to Mar-a-Lago “to kiss the ring” and called the co-hosts “despicable.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC will soon be under new ownership after parent company NBCUniversal decided to spin off the network and other cable channels it owns. Trump is scheduled to speak to NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that will air Sunday.
