“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough criticized MSNBC early Tuesday for pulling his show off the air Monday morning, less than 48 hours after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Scarborough addressed MSNBC’s decision to replace the usual “Morning Joe” programming during the 7:00 a.m. hour, visibly frustrated with his employer, the network.
The host claimed the network informed him that “one newsfeed” would air across all NBC News channels, which he said “did not happen.”
“Before we start this hour, Willie, I just wanted to briefly talk to our friends and viewers that watch us every day. And talk about what happened yesterday,” Scarborough said Tuesday. “We were told in no uncertain terms on Sunday evening that there was going to be one newsfeed across all NBC news channels yesterday. The TODAY show, Lester Holt, other people that Willie, you worked with on Sunday. And that that was going to be one newsfeed across all NBC news channels. That we were going to stay as a network in breaking news mode throughout all day yesterday. That did not happen.”
“We don’t know why that didn’t happen,” he continued. “Our team was not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen, but it didn’t happen. We were also told it was gonna happen throughout the day. And I guess, after there was such strong blowback about yesterday morning, I guess they changed their plans. And so those plans changed as well.”
Scarborough said he brought up Monday’s missing morning show Tuesday because they “talk about everything on the air.”
MSNBC host Ana Cabrera hosted MSNBC’s 6:00 a.m. hour Monday while NBC News Now hosts Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers took over at 7 a.m. as the Republican National Convention (RNC) began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (RELATED: ‘You Dishonest Dumb*ss!’: Megyn Kelly Rips Into Biden’s ‘Choreography’ And His ‘BFF’ Joe Scarborough)
“We were very surprised. We were very disappointed. And if we had known that there wasn’t gonna be the one newsfeed from NBC News across all NBC News channels, Willie, we obviously would have been on yesterday morning,” Scarborough said.
“Morning Joe” co-host Willow Geist said he was “ready to go” Monday morning as he was “told something else was going to be broadcast.”
“Wish we’d been here yesterday,” Geist added.
Scarborough mentioned that he wants to “figure out exactly why” this happened. Scarborough interrupted co-host Mika Brzezinski as she attempted to shift topics to say that next time breaking news occurs during his show, MSNBC should broadcast “Morning Joe” or “get somebody else” to host.
“We all wish we would have been here yesterday,” Scarborough said. “And we still would like to figure out exactly why there wasn’t that one newsfeed.”
“And I think the reason why, as this show began and continues 17 years later on being the place where you can go to have the hard conversations, um, in a civil way. And, so, it seems like now more than ever is a day and a time that we would like to be on. And I think our viewers agree with that. So, we continue,” Brzezinski said, preparing to move into the next segment. “So, we are five minutes past the top of the hour—”
“And, I wanted to say,” Scarborough interjected. “We, next time we’re told there’s gonna be a newsfeed replacing us, we will be in our chairs.”
“We’ll be sitting here!” Brzezinski chirped with a laugh.
“The newsfeed will be us or they can get somebody else to host the show,” Scarborough said.
Trump was struck by a bullet in the right ear Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. MSNBC replaced “Morning Joe” on Monday out of concern that its guests would make inappropriate comments about the attack on Trump, according to CNN, which cited anonymous sources.
An MSNBC spokesperson denied CNN’s report that the network made their decision out of concern that a guest would make inappropriate remarks when contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
