Commentary: 'Morning Joe' hosts forgot their viewers on MSNBC when they visited Trump

Bob Kustra, Chicago Tribune on Dec 6, 2024

Published in Op Eds

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Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” is still trying to figure out how loyal and adoring fans quit watching him and Mika Brzezinski after the couple flew to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Donald Trump’s ring after the election.

I was not a regular consumer of the show, but when I did watch, Scarborough would drone on forever, oftentimes preventing his guests from finishing a thought because, of course, he thinks he is the font of wisdom viewers tuned in to see.

Scarborough and Brzezinski spent years tearing Trump apart and hosting guests who did the same. It’s a form of betrayal, then, to throw viewers into a tailspin by visiting Mar-a-Lago and making nice with Trump. Their excuses for doing so were worse than the original offense.

Scarborough reappeared on “Morning Joe” and swept the objections his viewers had under the MSNBC rug. He claimed that the storm over their visit highlighted the “massive disconnect” between social media and the real world. Scarborough got it half right. There is a massive disconnect all right, but it’s between him and Brzezinski and those who followed the show for years but then suddenly saw its hosts genuflecting at the altar of Trump, the convicted felon. As if this new president-elect were like all the rest.

Brzezinski was equally off the mark by contending theirs was an effort to “restart communications.” Really? And just why did they need to restart communications? First, it sure didn’t look like they were in communication with Trump over recent months. In fact, they had not met with Trump in seven years, so why now just after no one could have been more critical of the man?

Second, for what purpose did they have to use a personal visit with Trump to “restart” communications? They have access to tons of contacts and insiders in D.C. who can give them the stories behind the headlines. Their program’s success did not rest on a meeting with Trump.

Scarborough and Brzezinski’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago betrayed thousands of their viewers who believed in them and leaned heavily on their voluble attacks on Trump’s character and career in business and government.

Apparently, no one in their orbit warned them how Trump would use the visit to show how even his enemies come around to MAGA thinking. You would think folks as savvy as they are could figure this out without help from staff or friends. Who knows what really transpired at their meeting with Trump? But it gave Trump, a pathological liar, the opportunity to describe his visitors as congratulating him on a “great and flawless campaign, one for the history books.” It was one for the history books all right — the second time a sexist defeated a candidate who would have been the first woman president in American history.

For those of us who deeply believe the country has elected a man who will undermine the rule of law and govern as the dictator he promised, it is imperative that we batten down the hatches and not scurry off to make nice with those who violate our constitutional system every way they can. This is the moment when America’s loyal opposition, of which Scarborough and Brzezinski have been stalwart members, must double down on their commentaries on the Trump regime.

It’s beyond belief that Scarborough and Brzezinski could not grasp how deeply committed their viewers are to the rule of law and the constitutional protections against tyranny. It had been Scarborough and Brzezinski who strengthened and nurtured our fierce objections to a political figure who already had proven how he makes short shrift of the U.S. Constitution. It raises the question of just how committed they are to the very arguments they sold us. Was this just another TV show where hosts gin up the crowd of anti-Trumpers to keep them viewing and keep those advertisers paying for the product?

Whatever it was, it may not make a difference in the long run. NBC owner Comcast’s decision to spin off its cable properties, including MSNBC, may result in the nation losing the most consistent progressive voices on TV. Maybe Trump can find work for Scarborough and Brzezinski on Fox. They certainly earned it!

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Bob Kustra served two terms as Illinois lieutenant governor and 10 years as a state legislator. He served as president of Boise State University from 2003 to 2018 and is now host of Readers Corner on Boise State Public Radio and a regular columnist for the Idaho Statesman.

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