Joe Scarborough Said in April That There’s No ‘Meeting In The Middle’ With Trump
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough slammed backlash to his decision to meet with President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-A-Lago as proof of the “massive disconnect” with the “real world” that meant “talking with” the incoming president and his supporters, but during a charged speech in April he declared the opposite – that there would be no “meeting in the middle” this time round.
During Monday’s show Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski revealed they had visited Trump on Friday past, explaining to viewers that they wanted to “restart communications” and that it was “time for a new approach” in their coverage of the incoming administration.
Indeed, the announcement received almost immediate backlash from commentators and some in the media who blasted the move and pointed to the hosts longtime anti-Trump criticism, while others viewed it as a cynical ploy to turn around a drop in ratings. Two sources close to the couple told CNN’s Brian Stelter that the pair feared retribution from the incoming Trump administration.
During Monday’s monologue, pre-empting criticism from liberal viewers and Democrats as to why the hosts would want to speak to Trump, Brzezinski bluntly asked: “Why wouldn’t we?”
Rewind to April and speaking at the National Action Network Convention in April on stage with Morning Joe contributor Rev. Al Sharpton, Scarborough called out citizens who would “knowingly” vote for “fascist” and “racist” Trump in 2024, declaring that there would be no “meeting in the middle” this time round.
Scarborough began by telling the audience that Brzezinski, also his wife and who joined him in his meeting with Trump on Friday, and said she “gets sick and tired” of him “trying to understand other people and being so pragmatic” in trying to empathize with political rivals, asking: “Where can we meet in the middle?”
He continued:
On this question, we’re past that! You can’t meet.
Listen, if they voted for Trump in ‘16, whatever. They voted for Trump in ‘20, they knew exactly what they were doing. If they vote for Donald Trump in 2024, and I’ve said it on my show, I’ll say it here, they’re knowingly voting for a fascist. They’re voting for a racist. They’re voting for somebody that wants to put this country 200 years in the back.
And so, I’m not trying to figure them out. I’m trying to figure out how we get people out who love democracy, who love freedom, who love the rights of all Americans, how to get them to the voting booth because that’s how we save our country.
Watch above via NBC News.
