MSNBC’s flagship morning program Morning Joe is facing a sharp decline in viewership, with ratings down 35% among total viewers and 37% in the key 25-54 age demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. The drop comes after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski disclosed their controversial meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November.
Since the Nov. 18 broadcast revealing the meeting, the show’s viewership has dropped an additional 17%, with key demographic numbers plunging by over a third. The meeting was the first time Scarborough and Brzezinski had spoken with Trump in seven years. They explained the encounter as an effort to “restart communications” and discuss contentious topics like abortion, mass deportation, and Trump’s threats of retribution against political opponents and media outlets. Scarborough stated that while they did not “see eye to eye” on many issues, they believed the meeting was necessary.
Brzezinski defended their decision to meet with Trump, saying, “Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country. Why wouldn’t we speak to him?” Despite this explanation, the show’s liberal audience erupted in outrage, with many vowing to boycott the program. Even MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin criticized the co-hosts, adding fuel to the backlash.
Scarborough and Brzezinski remained defiant, pointing out that off-the-record meetings with incoming presidents are common journalistic practice. Scarborough argued that publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post routinely engage in similar discussions. “The only difference between what we did and what other media outlets do is that we were transparent,” Scarborough asserted.
As Morning Joe closes out the year with diminished viewership, the fallout highlights the deep political divides among the show’s audience and the challenges of balancing journalistic access with public perception. Whether the program can regain its footing remains to be seen.
