Joe Scarborough opened Thursday’s (December 5) edition of Morning Joe with a 20-minute rant aimed at Atlantic writer David Frum over claims that the MSNBC hosts “fear Donald Trump.”
The controversy emerged after Frum appeared on Morning Joe on Wednesday (December 4) and made a quip about former Fox News host and Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. During the interview, Scarborough and his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, brought up an NBC News report that claimed Hegseth’s alleged heavy drinking had raised concerns among his Fox News co-workers.
“If you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed,” Frum joked.
This remark drew criticism from the show’s producers, and following Frum’s segment, Brzezinksi addressed the viewers, referring to their guest’s joke as “flippant.”
The situation escalated on Wednesday afternoon when Frum published an article in the Atlantic about his experience and how Morning Joe felt they had to apologize for his comments out of “fear” of president-elect Trump. Frum said Brzezinski’s apology was “the chill of intimidation” and MSNBC “responding with efforts to appease.”
“That wasn’t the sound of fear. That was the sound of civility” — Joe Scarborough makes an impassioned defense of the decision he and Mika made to defend Fox News from David Frum as well as their meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/Cz0h0kfAvn— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 5, 2024
Scarborough blasted Frum’s article on Thursday’s episode of Morning Joe, saying his show’s reaction to Frum’s joke “wasn’t the sound of fear, that was the sound of civility. In saying that Mika had apologized, she didn’t apologize. She simply said it was too flippant.”
“You can’t be fearful. Just because some people have said that we are fearful,” he continued. “Let me tell you something, you can talk to anybody that has worked in the front office of NBC and MSNBC over the past 22 years. I tell you, I’m not fearful. If you talk to anybody served with me in congress, they will tell you, not fearful of leadership. Now? Not fearful.”
Scarborough also used his rant to bring up the criticism he and Brzezinski have faced for their meeting with Trump.
“Guess what? This is what’s been going on now for several weeks,” he said. “We went down to talk to the President-elect. And people wrote articles that were just false. But you know what we did? We did the corporate thing. Corporate said, ‘Don’t say anything. Just keep your head down.’ What did the royals say? Never explain, never complain. We did that.”
Related‘Morning Joe’ Ratings Revealed Since That Shocking Trump Meeting
He continued, “We enjoyed our Thanksgiving. You know what? People are upset with some of our guests, some of our friends. We snuck up on them too fast. We should have given them more of a warning. Whatever… The main complaint was that we called Donald Trump’s rhetoric fascist during the campaign. And then we went down to have an off the record comment.”
Before wrapping up his rant, Scarborough clarified that he isn’t afraid of Trump, adding, “I always have Republicans say, ‘Oh, they’re telling you exactly what to say.’ No! Nobody’s once told me what to say here. Well actually, one person did one time. One leader did one time.”
“I said ‘I’ll tell you what, if you think you can do such a damn good job, why don’t you come here and do the show four hours a day? I’m fine quitting. But I’m gonna do my show. I’ll do my show the way I want to do my show!’”
Morning Joe, Weekdays, 6a/5c, MSNBC
More Headlines:
Christina Haack Makes Cryptic Comment Amid Messy Divorce From Josh HallTrish Stratus Reflects on History-Making WWE ‘Raw’ Main Event Against Lita 20 Years LaterJoe Scarborough Has Shocking ‘Morning Joe’ Meltdown Over Trump (VIDEO)’90 Day Fiance’ Star Leida Margaretha Gets Huge News Amid Theft & Fraud AllegationsRyan Seacrest’s Real Height Revealed as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host Gets ‘Short Shamed’