MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said President Donald Trump managed to make himself even more "inept" during his Oval Office speech, while also shredding what's left of his credibility.
The "Morning Joe" host said Americans already blame Trump for the government shutdown over his demands for congressional funding to build a border wall, and Scarborough said the president didn't change anyone's mind with a listless speech.
"This is an address he could have delivered on Fox News prime time and he would have reached his same audience," Scarborough said. "He would have converted the same number of people, which is zero, because if they were watching him on Fox News, in prime time, chances are very good, they'd already be on his side. Last night, he converted no one. Last night, he made himself look even more inept. Last night, he made himself look even more lost."
MSNBC political analyst Mike Barnicle said the president and broadcast networks had hurt their credibility with the public in the event of a real emergency, by broadcasting a prime time speech about a made-up crisis.
"What happens when there is a real crisis, when there is a real emergency?" Barnicle said. "Does he take to the airwaves? Do we give him the airwaves? Do we believe him? That's a real question that has to be answered."
"The president continually refers to, gets right up to the edge of this as a national emergency," Barnicle added. "There is a national emergency, I would submit. We saw it last night. It's him."
Co-host Willie Geist called on congressional Republicans to do something about the ongoing emergency in the White House.
"The networks and Democrats, everybody is acting as if he is fit, taking part in this colossal waste of time, which would be this presidency, instead of looking at it instead of saying, this person is not fit to lead, and acting on that fact," Geist said. "I'm not sure why it's happening. People smarter than me say that we're here, and yet we still have situations like last night."
