Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski ignited a firestorm online after attacking critics questioning their dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
The two MSNBC hosts went to the country club shortly after the election and were criticized for "kissing the ring" of Trump. In 2017, they had a very public falling out with the incoming president.
At the time, The New York Times reported that the show was "once a friendly bastion on left-leaning MSNBC," for Trump until that falling out.
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On Wednesday morning's show, former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum joked about Pete Hegseth, saying that when his crew at Fox has problems with his drinking, it's a big problem. Brzezinski issued an on-air apology, saying Frum's attack on Hegseth was offensive to Fox staff.
"Media maker" Chris Borkowski pointed out on X that the apology was an example of "obey in advance," a term historian Timothy Snyder talks about as one of the first stages of tyranny.
Frum responded by writing his own column calling out the hosts and alleging that they might be playing nice out of fear either of retribution or the MSNBC license from the FCC.
After Scarborough's 23-minute rant at the top of Thursday's show, critics called it condescending.
Writer Tom Watson of "The Liberal" pointed to a video of the hosts on BlueSky remarking, "Just look at their faces. They think you're all suckers."
Designer Christopher Webb agreed, posting, "Joe Scarborough just blasted his remaining viewers this morning in the most condescending way for criticizing him & Mika for going to Mar-a-Lago to talk to Trump ‘on background.' My issue wasn’t that they went to meet with Trump, it wasn’t that they told us about it, it was the way they presented it on air. They normalized the man who wants to be an autocrat and weaponize the DOJ against his perceived enemies."
"Mika and Joe know they can file amended tax returns, right?" asked former FBI agent Asha Rangappa after the on-air apology.
Legal analyst Renato Mariotti said that the on-air apology "doesn't even make sense."
"Boy: The emperor is naked! Mika: The comment was a little too flippant for this moment that we’re in," posted social media influencer "Schooley," who boasted hundreds of thousands of followers on X before deleting his account.
"Start Me Up" podcaster Kimberly Johnson lambasted the hosts on BlueSky, saying simply, "F--- you, Joe and Mika."
"Mueller, She Wrote" podcast media empire host Allison Gill noted that the MSNBC hosts were "making fun of" people like George Conway and David Frum "to lecture the rest of us on how being disgusted with their capitulation makes us cowards."
Ex-conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin responded to Scarborough's Thursday rant, "I'll do my show the way I want!"
"No one has to watch it," said Rubin on BlueSky.
"Morning Joe" viewer Leigh Cunningham, a retired educator, said she doesn't buy it.
"Been watching MJ for years and never have known Joe to be concerned about civility before. Sad for Mika and their many lovely regulars, but not going back," she said.
