'He is scared to death': Morning Joe reveals one simple reason for all of Trump's baffling actions

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said the president seems to be terrified that his connections to Russia will soon be unraveled -- and will provoke a constitutional crisis to keep them from being exposed.

President Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, where he complained about Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the Russia probe and warned special counsel Robert Mueller not to delve into his family's finances.

"Maybe we're overanalyzing this too much," Scarborough said. "Maybe this is not about Donald Trump being anything other than scared, because he knows what's in his background."

The "Morning Joe" host said that would explain why Trump praises Russia, its president and its military while criticizing American leaders and troops.

"We're just making this a little more complicated than it needs to be," Scarborough said. "Donald Trump is scared. He is scared to death that somebody is going to pull on that thread and everything is going to unravel."

He said fear of exposure explains the president's decisions to fire FBI director James Comey and attack Mueller and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein -- who took over the Justice Department's investigation after Sessions recused himself over his secret meetings with Russian officials.

"Maybe he's just scared to death that years and years of shortcuts are going to catch up with him," Scarborough said.