More like Morning Oh-hell-no.
MSNBC staffers were furious to learn that “Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, and didn’t hold back in voicing their displeasure.
One unnamed employee vented to Fox News Digital, characterizing the meeting as “cowardice” and “disgusting but frankly unsurprising” — and saying the sit-down flew in the face of anti-Trump author and historian Tim Snyder’s on-air admonishment to the network to never “obey in advance.”
“Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country,” said Brzezinski, 57, as she opened Monday’s show with the stunning revelation.
“Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him,” she added, noting that Trump was “cheerful and upbeat” during the private meeting, and seemed “interested in finding common ground” with Democrats.
The same employee told the outlet that MSNBC staff members had become “largely disdainful” of the left-wing network hosts in light of the news, calling them “opportunistic” for arranging to meet with Trump after spending two years demonizing him as the second coming of Adolf Hitler.
MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin called the meeting “disgusting” on Bluesky, the social media platform attracting disaffected liberals who claim to be leaving Elon Musk-owned X.
Katie Phang, host of the network’s “The Katie Phang Show,” made an oblique reference on X to the hosts’ visit, writing, “Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.”
The employee echoed her sentiment, telling the outlet, “Katie Phang is right. It’s normalization (and it’s access bulls–t) … Journalists don’t need access to their subjects to hold them to account. None of it is believable. The obvious answer is believable: They are opportunists.”
The Comcast-owned cable news channel experienced a drastic 54% ratings dip in the election’s immediate aftermath, according to a report, as viewers’ grew tired of the network’s slanted coverage.
The co-hosts — who married in 2018 — also drew swift condemnation from outside the network, with some accusing the talking heads of grasping at ratings with their abrupt about-face, which followed more than two years of fomenting fear about Trump on a daily basis.
“Bend the knee to the King in order to save their careers,” a person wrote on X.
“Gutted by Joe and Mika this morning. Total capitulation after years of railing about his lack of fitness. Not even an interview to show their ‘journalistic integrity’. Just a pure kiss-the-ring session. Disappointed and done with them and their show,” a viewer tweeted.
“This is why people don’t trust the mainstream media anymore. Joe and Mika who constantly attack ‘fascist’ Trump on their show, went to Mar a Lago to talk with Trump over the weekend,” said another.
Scarborough, 61, attempted to defend what many called abject hypocrisy, saying, “Don’t be mistaken, we are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.”
The summit was the first time the pair had seen the incoming president in seven years, Brzezinski said.
Trump later told Fox News Digital that the meeting with the lefty morning show co-hosts was “extremely cordial” and lamented “that it wasn’t done long ago.”
