Nikki Haley, former GOP presidential candidate, wasted no time poking fun at MSNBC’s Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski after they revealed they recently met with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In an attempt to explain their decision, the couple said they wanted to “restart communications” with Trump, despite years of publicly criticizing him for being a racist, sexist, misogynistic, and even fascist.
Brzezinski remarked, “Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him.”
However, Haley was quick to call out their motives.
Haley Suggests the Real Reason for the Meeting
Haley, not buying their explanation, took to social media to share her thoughts.
She boldly tweeted, “Let’s be clear, Joe and Mika didn’t suddenly see the light, they saw their ratings. They realized they needed Trump for their survival.”
Her comment was likely a response to the noticeable drop in ratings at MSNBC, which plummeted by 53% from October, largely following Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.
The pair had once heavily criticized Trump, often labeling him as divisive and unfit for office.
Their move to meet with him now raised eyebrows, especially since they had played such an active role in publicly challenging his policies and rhetoric.
A Shift in Public Opinion?
Despite their previous antagonism, Scarborough and Brzezinski defended their meeting with Trump, claiming it was essential for their work.
Scarborough explained on-air that he felt a responsibility to visit Trump in order to “provide insights and better equip all of us to understand these deeply unsettling times.”
He was careful to reassure viewers that the meeting was not about defending or normalizing Trump.
But many of their viewers, along with fellow media personalities, were less than pleased.
Some even accused the duo of “bending the knee” to Trump, with others criticizing them for seeming to abandon their previously held positions in favor of ratings.
Reactions and Backlash
The backlash from viewers was swift. Sunny Hostin, cohost of The View, expressed her displeasure, saying, “I don’t think you need to sit down for ninety minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and cover a story.
Maybe they’re not journalists in the true sense, maybe they are saying they are opinion journalists.”
MSNBC host Katie Phang also weighed in, writing on social media, “Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.”
The controversy surrounding this meeting highlights the growing divide within political media circles, as hosts and pundits navigate their relationships with a figure they once denounced but now find themselves needing to engage with.
What will happen next remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—this meeting has stirred up more than just Trump’s supporters.
This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!
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