The co-hosts of “Morning Joe” defended a “60 Minutes” interview with Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that gained criticism over social media after it aired.
Lesley Stahl exclusively interviewed Greene in a Sunday special, which sparked widespread criticism from prominent political and media figures. During one of the most notable moments of the interview, Greene called Democrats and President Joe Biden “pedophiles.”
“I think it’s important, this is what they do at ’60 Minutes.’ They bring a person like this or a foreign leader, they go into situations where they ask the questions and show their viewers what they’re dealing with,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said Monday. “And I think she [interviewer Lesley Stahl] did an exceptional job as usual, and I take issue with those Tweets and both those people, if they sat down with Marjorie Taylor Greene, could they do it as well, because it should be done.”
“We do need to cover these people. We need to show all sides of the story, and I’m talking about Democrats, Republicans, people on the far-right, Trumpers who wouldn’t — actually, some would argue, don’t — represent the true conservative Republican Party and movement,” she continued.
Co-host Joe Scarborough pointed out that “60 Minutes” has interviewed convicted serial killer Charles Manson and “one terrible person after another.”
“If they can interview Charles Manson, they can interview a member of Congress, and if you don’t want to watch, you can do what Mika and I did and not watch until this morning,” Scarborough said. “But if you want to watch, you can watch and actually understand some of the craziness that has infected the Republican Party, and that just may be good to understand what American democracy is up against.” (RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene Accuses Canada Of Wanting ‘To Participate In Mexico’s Invasion’ Of The US)
Mike Barnicle said the program exposed the prominent members of the Republican Party by interviewing Greene so viewers across the country can understand who she is and what she stands for. He argued her comments implying Biden is allegedly a “pedophile” represent the “obscenity” of her viewpoints.
Those who called out the “60 Minutes” interview included former Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and NBC News reporter Ben Collins, who publicly condemned the interview with Greene.
“Wow. Insane that 60 min would do this,” Kinzinger wrote.
Wow. Insane that 60 min would do this https://t.co/jpyyGp2Tw7
— Adam Kinzinger #fella (@AdamKinzinger) March 31, 2023
“Oh my god what are we doing here,” Collins wrote.
The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones accused the interview of doing the “type of normalizing” the media once allegedly did to segregationists.