'Bent the knee': Morning Joe watchers outraged by hosts' Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump

The hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" called their recent visit to President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago an opportunity to bridge a political divide.

Their critics called it kissing the ring.

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski faced widespread criticism Monday after they announced they'd visited Trump, an old friend turned political foe, weeks before he is slated to return to the White House.

"Joe and Mika went to see the king at his castle," journalist David Leavitt wrote on the social media site BlueSky. "And they bent the knee."

Scarborough and Brzezinski have faced criticism for being "too cozy" with Trump before, specifically in 2015 when their fellow television personality friend mounted his presidential campaign, Axios reported in 2017.

But the relationship soured as Scarborough and Brzezinski expressed outrage with Trump White House policy and Trump, in return, expressed outrage at them.

Their efforts to reestablish a line of communication with Trump sparked criticism of hypocrisy on Monday from both sides of the political aisle.

Democratic strategist Keith Edwards predicted more favorable Trump coverage from the morning news show power couple who have counted themselves among Trump's most outspoken critics.

"Fascism is being normalized," Edwards wrote. "Don’t be surprised when Joe and Mika say Trump has every right to run for a third term."

Byron York, chief political correspondent of the conservative news outlet the Washington Examiner, also hurled criticism at the couple.

"Annals of shamelessness: They call Trump a fascist, and much, much more, and then, just 22 days after his 'Nazi-like' rally, they fly to Florida for an audience," he wrote on X. "Afterward, they say, 'We didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues,' but they want to 'restart communications.' What?"

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Scarborough and Brzezinski were met with frustration from fellow journalists who accused the couple of practicing access journalism, or prioritizing prestige over integrity.

"Oh Lord!" journalism professor Jeff Jarvis wrote. "They revert to their mean."

Journalist Helen Kennedy said the news did not inspire her to resume watching "Morning Joe," as she did until 2016.

"Haven't a single regret," Kennedy wrote. "And don't see any reason to ever watch them again in the future."

Radio host Dean Obeidallah called the visit a surrender.

"We must never surrender to him," he wrote. "We need to take the fight to him!"

Body language expert Dr. Jack Brown drew a quiet comparison between Trump and the man whose generals he has praised, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

"Joe and Mika are good Germans," Brown wrote.

Political humorist Paul Leigh shared a photo that appeared to be taken in a Halloween shop, of a sign showing that costumes of the "Morning Joe" hosts were no longer available.

"Oh look," he wrote. "Joe and Mika are both sold out."

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