MSNBC pulled its flagship AM program “Morning Joe” from airing on Monday in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
Viewers who tuned in Monday expecting to see the staunchly anti-Trump program, hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, were greeted instead by continued NBC News special reporting on the attempt on Trump’s life on Saturday. A spokesperson said “Morning Joe” will resume airing on Tuesday.
According to a CNN report, a person familiar with the decision said it was made in part over fear that one of the show’s many guests over a four-hour broadcast “might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”
According to CNN’s report, Cesar Conde, the chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, decided to yank the show in consultation with MSNBC president Rashida Jones, as well as the show’s co-hosts.
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. (MSNBC/Screenshot)
The call by MSNBC to keep “Morning Joe” off the airwaves shocked political observers, with some conservatives saying it demonstrated a lack of trust in one of its most high-profile shows to sensitively cover a fraught situation.
“The fact that Morning Joe’s own network can’t trust its flagship brand not to spew reckless and inflammatory crap during breaking news tells you all you need to know about the credibility of the MSNBC line-up,” a veteran Republican consultant told Fox News Digital.
The news stirred up the left, too.
Liberal journalist Jeff Jarvis fumed on X, “What the f—, MSNBC? You preempted your excellent weekend programming… and now you’ve silenced [Morning Joe] in favor of your anodyne streaming news cos-play called Now? This is when we need the analysis and conversation these shows bring us (yes, with controversy; that is how public discourse works through it: with discussion). It is shocking that NBC/Comcast do not understand their own company’s programs and raison d’etre.”
Scarborough and Brzezinski have a complicated history with Trump. The two hosts stood out in their bullishness on his political chances in 2015 and 2016 and frequently interviewed him on their show, but they became two of his most vehement critics after he became president.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is moved from the stage after an attempt on his life at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The show’s hosts and guests have repeatedly called him an authoritarian threat to the nation. Known to be one of President Biden’s favorite programs and beloved by the New York and Washington liberal establishment, the political chat show has taken on new influence in recent weeks due to Biden’s political woes.
A spokesman for MSNBC didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
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Trump was wounded in the ear by a would-be assassin’s bullet on Saturday at his Pennsylvania rally. The shooter killed one attendee and critically wounded two others before being killed by law enforcement.
Trump will accept the 2024 Republican nomination for president this week in Milwaukee.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates…