MSNBC and Morning Joe are getting a shake-up just days after host Joe Scarborough went on a 20-minute rant at critics who claimed he was trying to appease the incoming Trump administration.
As reported by Variety, NBC News’ Ali Vitali will leave her correspondent role in Washington to anchor the 5 am Way Too Early show, which serves as the lead-in to Morning Joe. Meanwhile, Jonathan Lemire, who currently anchors Way Too Early, will move to Morning Joe‘s 9 am hour as a permanent co-host alongside Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
Vitali, who has worked for NBC News for a decade covering politics, campaigns, and Capitol Hill, will start her Way Too Early role on January 6, per Variety.
In a statement, Vitali told the outlet she looks forward to “anchoring a show that’s been helmed by some of the smartest reporters in Washington,” adding, “I’ll continue working my sources and bringing viewers into the halls of power with fresh reporting and news-making interviews from Capitol Hill and across Washington.”
Ali Vitali; MSNBC YouTube
Vitali first joined MSNBC in 2012 as an intern, editor, and graphics producer before working her way up the ranks. In 2015, she moved to the White House to serve as an embed covering the Trump campaign. She also wrote the book Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put A Woman In the White House…Yet detailing her experiences on the 2020 campaign trail.
Lemire, who hosted Way Too Early for just over three years, has frequently made appearances on Morning Joe. He will now serve as a permanent co-anchor, similar to Willie Geist, who also helms the morning news program alongside Scarborough and Brzezinski.
Jonathan Lemire; MSNBC YouTube
Related‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Absent From Show After Joe Scarborough Meltdown
The shake-up comes less than a week since Scarborough delivered a scathing rant on air aimed at Atlantic writer David Frum and other critics of the Morning Joe hosts. Frum was a guest on the show on Wednesday (December 4) when he made a joke about Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
After Brzezinski later addressed viewers and referred to the joke as “flippant,” Frum penned an article for the Atlantic where he claimed the Morning Joe hosts apologized on his behalf due to “fear” and trying to “appease” the incoming Trump administration.
Scarborough took issue with Frum’s article and fired back in a 20-minute rant on Thursday’s (December 5) episode, saying his reaction “wasn’t the sound of fear, that was the sound of civility,” adding, “I’m not fearful. If you talk to anybody who served with me in congress, they will tell you, not fearful of leadership. Now? Not fearful.”
He also blasted those who had a problem with him and Brzezinski meeting with Trump following his presidential election victory. “We went down to talk to the President-elect and people wrote articles that were just false,” he stated. “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.”
Morning Joe, Weekdays, 6 am/5c, MSNBCWay Too Early, Weekdays, 5 am/6c, MSNBC
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