He continued: “You know why I do that? To get the read of the leader. To get the read of where the country’s going, so I can come back here and talk to you and let you know what the hell is going on!”
Scarborough and Brzezinski compared themselves to journalists at outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times, who often speak to leaders like Trump on background. But the pair are the hosts of an opinion news program.
Over the years, Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, has openly offered his opinion on a host of issues and has more in common with an opinion columnist than a straight news reporter. During the 2016 campaign cycle, this took the form of Trump being relentlessly promoted on “Morning Joe.”
The rant—which went on for an extraordinarily long time—was triggered by a column published in The Atlantic by former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum. In his piece Frum discussed his appearance on “Morning Joe” on Thursday, where he joked about the allegations of public drunkenness by Defense Secretary nominee and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth.
“If you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed,” Frum said.
Frum said a producer warned him about making the comment and told him not to repeat what he said. Later in the program, Brzezinski appeared and told viewers, “A little bit earlier in this block there was a comment made about Fox News, in our coverage about Pete Hegseth and the growing number of allegations about his behavior over the years and possible addiction to alcohol or issues with alcohol. The comment was a little too flippant for this moment that we’re in.”
In his piece, Frum criticized MSNBC’s response to his statement and wrote, “It is a very ominous thing if our leading forums for discussion of public affairs are already feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease.”
Scarborough was dismissive of Frum’s perspective and argued that the warning was more about civility than censorship, before launching into his comments about criticism of the show.
The MSNBC show is part of a trend of media outlets—including The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times—bending over backward to please Trump, even before he has been sworn into office. Despite Scarborough’s protests the Trump visit showed deference to a figure who has been openly hostile to the free press and the network’s skittishness about Trump-related criticism is likely to decrease trust in the press.
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