On Thursday, the second hour of MS NOW’s Morning Joe turned into a prolonged discussion on transgender athletes in women’s sports as co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist minimized the issue and said Republicans were "obsessed." Then, Scarborough and Geist attacked Republicans, with Scarborough saying there was a “raging current” and “reservoir of beta maleness underneath this Republican Party.”
Geist began and mocked Republicans, like Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (R), whose Senate speech spawned the segment:
The guys who talk so much about how alpha they are - and how they've got high-T, and they think about testosterone a lot, seem to also be real fixated on woke stuff like this. He was talking about trans athletes playing sports as the. Charlie Baker, the head of the NCAA, said in congressional testimony, said there are more than 500,000 athletes in NCAA college sports. He was asked how many are trans. He said, less than ten.
Thursday’s Morning Joe devolved into a conversation that made fun of Republicans for talking about transgender athletes playing in women’s sports. Willie Geist minimized the issue before Joe Scarborough said the GOP has a "raging current of beta":
“You almost get this sense… pic.twitter.com/OZbNwrte1U— Nick (@nspin310) September 24, 2026
Then he continued to completely minimize the issue and said, “In other words, this is not an issue that's in the top 1000 of important issues.”
Scarborough followed and asked, “No, but Willie, I just have to ask, why are they so obsessed with trans?”
He then went further while calling Republicans "beta":
You almost get this sense when you go into their Senate offices, these Republicans have like the Rocky Horror Picture Show going on and Sweet Transvestite playing in the background because they are obsessed! There's so few trans athletes, but it's like all they think about.
‘Honey, I'm sorry, this is a great meal, but I'm just thinking about trans.’ No, it's like, what's wrong with them? Like there is such a there's such a raging current of beta. Like just a reservoir of beta maleness underneath this Republican Party. I don't get it. I really don’t.
Geist continued the mockery: “Being beta is the foundation of the movement. You have to bow to the emperor. You have to do and go along with whatever he says, and that's what we're seeing. But this is a strange obsession. I'm not going to raise any speculation, but I feel just made me feel bad for the mascot at Auburn.”
Scarborough later asked Adrienne Elrod why Republicans are “obsessed,” as they talked more about… furries.
Elrod then said, “We can almost predict that around this time every election cycle that Republicans, because they haven't done anything for the American people, are going… pic.twitter.com/zlXaOpyjJC— Nick (@nspin310) September 24, 2026
Scarborough again asked Geist about the number of Trans athletes, and, after he gave the stat again, he asked Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod: “Adrienne, do you have any Republican friends who are as obsessed with trans as much as like Republican senators are obsessed with trans furries?”
Elrod responded, after she explained that she thought 'Furries' were real animals before the segment, and said, “I mean, we can almost predict that around this time every election cycle that Republicans, because they haven't done anything for the American people, are going to start diverting, trying to divert our attention to the transgender issue, which, as Willie pointed out, especially in sports, is pretty much a non-issue.” She added, “So, I'm not surprised. But it's just bizarre and strange.”
As Brzezinski tried to move on from the segment to talk about the MS NOW, CNN, and Politico White House bans, Scarborough still continued: “Yeah, it is bizarre and strange. Their obsession.”
Frequent guest Mike Barnicle then exclaimed, “I want to go home.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
MS NOW’s Morning Joe
September 24, 2026
7:05:35 AM Eastern
(...)
WILLIE GEIST: Joe, we’ve talked about this, well, there's a lot of projection. Maybe
JOE SCARBOROUGH: What is that! [Laughter]
GEIST: The guys who talk so much about how alpha they are -
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Oh, it's hateful.
GEIST: - and how they've got high-T and they think about testosterone a lot, seem to also be real fixated on woke stuff like this. He was talking about trans athletes playing sports as the. Charlie Baker, the head of the NCAA, said in congressional testimony, said there are more than 500,000 athletes in NCAA college sports. He was asked how many are trans. He said, less than ten. In other words -
SCARBOROUGH: I’m telling you man. These people -
GEIST: - this is not an issue that's in the top 1000 of important issues.
SCARBOROUGH: No, but Willie, I just have to ask, why are they so obsessed with trans? It's like all they talked -
GEIST: I know. I know.
SCARBOROUGH: You almost get this sense when you go into their Senate offices. These Republicans have like the Rocky Horror Picture Show going on and Sweet Transvestite playing in the background because they are obsessed! There's so few trans athletes, but it's like all they think about.
‘Honey, I'm sorry, this is a great meal, but I'm just thinking about trans.’ No, it's like, what's wrong with them? Like there is such a there's such a raging current of beta. Like just a reservoir of beta maleness underneath this Republican Party. I don't get it. I really don’t.
GEIST: Being beta is the foundation of the movement. You have to bow to the emperor. You have to do and go along with whatever he says, and that's what we're seeing. But this is a strange obsession. I'm not going to raise any speculation, but I feel just made me feel bad for the mascot at Auburn.”
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, I’m scared. Okay, Jonathan Lemire and Adreinne Elrod, they’re still with us.
SCABRORUGH: I mean, what? Do we have to look at the tiger mascot now with suspicion at Auburn? I don't know. What was he suggesting. It makes me sad. I have a lot of good friends at Auburn, Willie. Do we now have to ask what's going on there? What, like, why is he so freaked out about this? What was that stat again? They're like, how many student-athletes?
GEIST: More than half a million. And when asked during Senate testimony, Charlie Baker, the head of the NCAA, said, how many trans athletes? He said less than ten out of more than half a million.
SCARBOROUGH: Okay.
BRZEZINSKI: Come on.
SCARBOROUGH: Why are the Republicans - maybe Adrienne knows this. Adrienne, do you have any Republican friends who are as obsessed with trans as much as like Republican senators are obsessed with trans furries?
BRZEZINSKI: Or furries?
SCARBOROUGH: Like, why are they so obsessed?
ADRIENNE ELROD: I thought furries, when we were talking about it during the break, I thought they were actually animals. I got sort of excited about talking about pets, but now I realize I'm learning.
BRZEZINSKI: No, they are people who dress up as animals. In costumes.
SCARBOROUGH: Okay, don’t get Mika started.
ELROD: It’s a little bit different thing
MIKE BARNICLE: Oh my god.
ELROD: I think look, a tale as old as time, Joe.
BARNICLE: My head is going to explode.
ELROD: I mean, we can almost predict that around this time every election cycle that Republicans, because they haven't done anything for the American people, are going to start diverting, trying to divert our attention to the transgender issue, which as Willie pointed out, especially in sports, is pretty much a non-issue.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah:
ELROD: So, I'm not surprised. But it's just bizarre and strange.
BRZEZINSKI: Okay, I'm going to move on. We have breaking news.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, it is bizarre and strange. Their obsession -
BARNICLE: I want to go home.
SCARBOROUGH: This beta obsession with trans and furries. I don't get it.
(...)
