MSNBC’s Morning Joe is under fire after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski admitted to meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday. The announcement, made during Monday’s broadcast, drew sharp criticism from liberal commentators, including Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who hinted at a boycott of the show.
Rubin, posting on the liberal-leaning social media platform Bluesky, urged disgruntled viewers to abandon the program. “The market works great. You can stop watching Morning Joe anytime,” Rubin wrote on the left-leaning platform, Bluesky.
Scarborough and Brzezinski’s have attempted to strike a balance between reconciling with Trump and reassuring their predominantly anti-Trump audience. During their announcement, the co-hosts pledged to “restart communications” with the incoming president but insisted they would not “defend or normalize Donald Trump.”
Liberal commentators, including Rubin, are claiming that Scarborough and Brzezinski are merely playing both sides and “selling access” to set themselves up for the next four years under a Trump administration.
This dual messaging failed to satisfy either side, leaving Trump supporters skeptical and many liberal viewers feeling betrayed.
For years, legacy media figures, including Scarborough and Brzezinski, have been at the forefront of harsh rhetoric against Trump, often comparing him to authoritarian figures, including Hitler. Rubin’s suggested boycott of Morning Joe reveals a growing divide between those in the media seeking to recalibrate their approach and those doubling down on the hostility that has alienated many Americans.
As Scarborough and Brzezinski attempt damage control, they join a category of establishment figures, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, whose post-election behavior suggests a pivot toward pragmatism. Meanwhile, Rubin and others appear committed to perpetuating a narrative prioritizing ideological purity over dialogue or reflection.
