Morning Joe slams Republicans for surrendering to Putin in exchange for tax cuts and conservative court

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said Republicans had traded tax cuts and two conservative Supreme Court justices for the NATO alliance that had allowed the U.S. to dominate the last half-century of world history.

The "Morning Joe" host said Trump had thoroughly taken control of the GOP, which has turned a blind eye to the president's highly questionable relationship with his Russian counterpart.

"Vladimir Putin does not like NATO, Russia hates NATO," Scarborough said.

"Getting back to bargains conservatives and Republicans made, people make bargains with themselves, but this deal that the Republican Party has made," he continued, "how the Republican Party is now Trump's party and people are having to change their, the generational-held views to be in line with Donald Trump."

He asked whether the trade-off was worth it.

"You know, you get two Supreme Court picks and you get tax cuts," Scarborough said, "but you also get the destruction of the U.S. order that made us the most powerful country over the past 50 years, and a huge question mark over what Vladimir Putin has on Donald Trump."

MSNBC analyst Mike Barnicle said the president appeared to be conspiring with Putin to undermine the European Union.

"We're on the eve of the president of the United States about to go to Europe, and we have Russia led by Putin trying to dismantle, disrupt and destroy the European Union and lo and behold, the president of the United States is his principal ally in doing this," Barnicle said. "Incredible."

Trump is headed to the annual NATO meeting Tuesday, and next week he will meet privately with Putin -- whom he has offered nothing but praise.

"He had one thing after another thing after another thing, add more question marks about what does Putin have on Donald Trump?" Scarborough said. "A question we've asked time and time again, and then you look and say, what is the one thing that Vladimir Putin -- what is his number one geopolitical strategic goal? It would be the breaking up of NATO, the breaking up of the European Union."