MSNBC’s left-leaning “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski were accused of outlandish hypocrisy Monday when they revealed they met privately with President-elect Donald Trump after years of fierce criticism of him.
Defeated MSNBC anchors — who have in the past blasted Trump as a “fascist” and compared him to Adolf Hitler — came face-to-face with the victorious Republican at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday for to “resume communications” after acknowledging that Americans had overwhelmingly made their choice by re-electing him.
The ensuing backlash against the pair was swift from all quarters, with many blasting Scarborough and Brzezinski for their “insolence” – while others raged they were “bending the knee” and “kissing the ring” by staging their first sit-down with of in seven years.
“Hitler gets a lot more meeting requests than I would have thought,” Republican strategist Scott Jennings wrote on X, referring to the co-host’s past attacks on Trump.
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York tweeted: “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”.
Eli Lake, a Free Press columnist, wrote, “Why would Trump bother talking to these people other than to urge them to seek mental health counseling?”
Critics came out in droves to accuse the left-leaning anchor of hypocrisy after years of repeatedly attacking Republicans on air.
“Once again…Democrats never thought Trump was Hitler or a fascist dictator. If you are propagandized, that’s okay. You were played,” someone tweeted.
Another X user chimed in: “Imagine being a liberal and listening to Morning Joe and Mika say for years that Trump is a threat to democracy… Then one morning you wake up and hear dude Mika admit they screwed up the knee to Trump.”
Others accused the talking heads of simply trying to save ratings with their face visible, which some described as a “hostage video”.
“Bend the king’s knee to save their career,” wrote one person on X.
Another user of the site added: “Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski did not go to Mar-a-Lago to achieve unity with Trump. They went because their network has dropped 50% in ratings and is on the verge of being sold – so they went and kissed the ring.”
A third person wrote: “This is why people don’t trust the mainstream media anymore. Joe and Mika, who repeatedly blast Trump as a ‘fascist’ on their show, went to Mar a Lago to chat with Trump over the weekend.
Some viewers said they were “disgusted” by the admission and suggested they would no longer tune into the morning news program.
“Bored by Joe and Mika this morning. Total capitulation after years of railing about his lack of fitness. Not even an interview to show their ‘journalistic integrity’. Just a pure kissing session. Disappointed and done with them and their show,” wrote one viewer on Twitter.
The backlash quickly spread after Scarborough and Brzezinski opened their Monday show with the revelation that they had a “personal” meeting with the president-elect in Florida after arriving in the wake of his election victory.
Addressing the expected backlash to their news face-to-face, Scarborough insisted during his opening monologue that the co-hosts — who have previously accused the Republican of being a threat to democracy — were not trying to “normalize” Trump.
“Make no mistake, we are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump,” he said.
“We’re here to report on it and provide you with insights that will better equip us all to understand these deeply troubling times.”
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