Joe Scarborough

Mournful Mika Wonders If Anyone Can Improve on Trump Muslim Ban
By Mark Finkelstein | December 10, 2015 | 8:19 AM EST

The last person you'd imagine backing Donald Trump's Muslim ban might be Mika Brzezinski. Yet on today's Morning Joe, a reluctant Mika came close to doing just that. Brzezinski springboarded off the news that the visa screening program failed to stop Tafsheen Malik from entering the country although she was already radicalized at the time.

While professing her opposition to the plan, she called the news "incredibly disturbing." When former Obama car czar Steve Rattner admitted that the process in place "had failed," Mika suggested: "are you saying something that might be in line with Donald Trump's policy?" Mika went on: "I'm not sure Donald Trump's concept is good for our country," but "we just had a slaughter." Concluded Brzezinski: "someone tell me something better than what Donald Trump is saying," adding sarcastically "and there's got to be something better because everybody has been sitting here for days, just lambasting him."

Mika Blasts Ben Carson: 'Slippery, Doesn't Tell Truth or Make Sense'
By Mark Finkelstein | November 11, 2015 | 7:21 AM EST

Two days ago, as we reported here, Joe Scarborough and Nicolle Wallace excoriated Ben Carson, accusing him of telling "one lie after another" and "bald-faced lies."

Today, it was Mika Brezinski's turn to denounce the good doctor. On Morning Joe, Mika said "there's this slipperiness to him that nobody will just say. He's slippery. He doesn't tell the truth, and he doesn't make sense."

Mika Wild About Carly: 'My God, Never Seen Anyone Like Her. Ever'
By Mark Finkelstein | September 17, 2015 | 9:04 AM EDT

It's one thing for conservatives to concur that Carly Fiorina was outstanding at last night's debate.  But to hear a string of superlatives about Fiorina coming from committed liberal Mika Brzezinski was breathtaking.

Over the course of today's Morning Joe, a stream of praise for Fiorina flowed from Mika, capped by this: "my God, I have never seen anyone like her. Ever."

Harold Ford: 'In Her Heart,' Hillary Didn't Intend to Violate Law
By Mark Finkelstein | September 8, 2015 | 8:34 AM EDT

In her "heart?"  Some cynical lawyerly types might say that presupposes a fact not in evidence . . . 

Is Harold Ford, Jr. auditioning for an appointment in a hoped-for Hillary administration?  On Morning Joe of late, he's trying out a variety of dubious defenses.  Last week, his line was that although Americans might see her as a "liar" and "dishonest," nobody thinks she's "unpatriotic."  Today, he claimed that "in her heart" Hillary didn't intend to violate the law.

Scarborough: 'I Blame Cable News' for Cops Being Less Safe
By Mark Finkelstein | August 31, 2015 | 8:59 AM EDT

You wish he had named names . . . On today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough flatly stated "I do blame it on cable news" for "people wearing uniforms being a lot less safe today than they were before Ferguson."

So just which cable networks did Scarborough have in mind? Until last week [when he was relegated to the Sunday morning desert], Joe's own MSNBC was the Al Sharpton network. So surely Scarborough was pointing the finger at least partially at MSNBC itself.  But as he continued, Scarborough also identified other unnamed cable networks that he accused of "glorifying" Vester Flanagan and "promoting the next Roanoke-style shooting" by displaying his Twitter feed and other such info, which is what killers like Flanagan seek. 

Scarborough Thanks MSNBC Boss for Booting Liberal Hosts
By Mark Finkelstein | August 27, 2015 | 8:16 AM EDT

The morning after Al Sharpton was exiled to the Sunday morning desert from his evening show, and not long after Ed Schultz and Alex Wagner were relieved of their hosting duties, Joe Scarborough has profusely thanked NBC News honcho Andrew Lack for making those changes.

On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough was discussing stunning poll results in which the first word that came to voters' minds about Hillary was "liar."  Asked what was the worst thing said about him in such polling, Scarborough answered "he works for MSNBC." But Joe then added, his hands steepled in a gesture of gratitude: "not any more though, cause things have changed. Thank you, Andy. Thank you very much." 

Scarborough: Pro-Biden White House Sending Justice Department Message About Hillary?
By Mark Finkelstein | August 25, 2015 | 8:23 AM EDT

If you're Hillary Clinton or one of her supporters, this should make your blood run cold.  On today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough said that the unequivocally pro-Biden statement from Obama spox Josh Earnest yesterday not only sent "a strong, strong message to Hillary" but, echoing the Wall Street Journal, "you wonder whether they're sending a message to the Justice Department as well."

Has there ever been anything quite like this in the history of American politics? It's one thing for a president to encourage his veep's presidential ambitions. It's entirely another for a president to put his 800-lb. thumb on the political scales by suggesting to his Justice Department that he'd like it to launch an investigation of the veep's main rival.

Al Hunt: 'Federal Raids on Maternity Wards' Under Trump Immigration Plan
By Mark Finkelstein | August 18, 2015 | 8:34 AM EDT

Al Hunt did stop short of predicting something so horrible it could never happen in America--federal marshals armed with assault weapons hunting down children cowering in closets to forcibly return them to a Communist dictatorship. Oh, wait, that really did happen, under President Bill Clinton, when Elian Gonzalez was returned to Cuba at the point of a gun. 

On today's Morning Joe an Al Hunt on the verge of hysteria predicted that Donald Trump's immigration plan would lead to "federal raids on maternity wards."  He claimed that implementing the plan would cost "11 trillion dollars," which assuming 11 million illegals in the country converts to $1 million each.  Joe Scarborough chimed in to claim that "we don't have the money to do that."

Josh Earnest Talks Like Obama Prefers Biden Over Hillary
By Mark Finkelstein | August 3, 2015 | 12:59 PM EDT

On today's Morning Joe, Josh Earnest said that President Obama believes that picking Biden as his VP was the "smartest decision he ever made in politics." Joe Scarborough drew the mischievous-but-logical inference that Obama must thus believe it was smarter than picking Hillary as his Secretary of State.  Though Mika interrupted to say that's not what he meant, Earnest never said boo to counter Joe's interpretation.

Earnest later said that if Biden chooses to run, he could make a "strong" case for his candidacy.  He added that other Dem candidates could make "quite" a strong case. Note the qualifier. And Earnest never paid Hillary the honor of mentioning her by name, just lumping her with "other Democratic candidates" not named Biden. Add in the fact that Joe reported that there is "outrage at the White House" over Hillary's email and foundation foul-ups, and a picture emerges of an Obama jumping towards Joe.  This could get very interesting!

Scarborough: Media Bias Worst On Issue of Abortion
By Mark Finkelstein | July 31, 2015 | 9:22 AM EDT

Joe Scarborough chose to couch his criticism in exculpatory explanation, claiming that reporters "try to be as fair as possible" and that their bias is "unintended."  But Scarborough's bottom line was still this: that media bias is at its worst when it comes to the issue of abortion.

Speaking on today's Morning Joe, Scarborough took his critique a significant step further, asserting that if a conservative group were caught doing what Planned Parenthood has done, "there would be indictments already going down." 

MSNBC's Morning Joe: Huckabee's Comments On Iran Deal 'Deplorable,' 'A Deal Breaker'
By Spencer Raley | July 27, 2015 | 5:09 PM EDT

On Monday’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski called presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s recent comments about the recent Iran deal “ugly, callous, shocking and deeply disturbing,” and angrily declared that this should be a “deal breaker” for his campaign.

McCain Won't Apologize: 'Term of Endearment' To Call Trump Supporters 'Crazies'
By Mark Finkelstein | July 20, 2015 | 8:38 AM EDT

If calling constituents concerned about illegal immigration "crazies" is a term of endearment, what would be an insult?  

On today's Morning Joe, John McCain refused to apologize to the thousands of Arizonans attending a Trump rally that McCain called "crazies." According to McCain, "crazies" is a "term of endearment" and a "term of affection."