MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough attempted to walk back his Tuesday column claiming President Donald Trump is a bigger threat to the United States than the 9/11 hijackers.
Scarborough wrote in The Washington Post on the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that, “[Trump] has done more damage to the dream of America than any foreign adversary ever could.”
My Latest—> Trump is damaging the dream of America more than any terrorist attack ever could. https://t.co/DEnYurEFmW
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018
After near-universal criticism, Scarborough sent out a series of tweets regretting that he had not “shown more care” with the column, but he did not fully apologize for his comparison of Trump and 9/11.
“I should have shown more care on the tweet’s wording and the column’s conclusion,” he wrote.
Jeryl, you’re a great example for all of us—especially me today. Many have been offended by a tweet I sent out earlier re: my @washingtonpost article. Even if they did not read the article, I should have shown more care on the tweet’s wording and the column’s conclusion. https://t.co/A7zJR38JiC
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018
The column was focused on 17 years of strategic missteps. The last paragraph became the sole focus of Trump supporters. On every other day of the year, I do not shy away from negative feedback from the right, the left or from Trump supporters.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018
Scarborough also seemed to think that only Trump supporters were offended by his article, and promised to “read the column again and think about whether I could have said the same thing in a way less offensive.”
On September 11th, I’ll read the column again and think about whether I could have said the same thing in a way less offensive to Trump supporters on September 11th.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018