“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski approached Donald Trump for their in-person meeting at Mar-a-Lago in part because they were “credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment,” CNN reported Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter who were not named.
The MSNBC hosts also defended the meeting on their Tuesday broadcast.
“Yesterday saw for the first time what a massive disconnect there was between social media and the real world, because we were flooded with phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, very positive, very supportive,” Scarborough said.
According to Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter, Scarborough argued that face-time with a world leader is a “no-brainer.” But “Reliable Sources” said Scarborough and Brzezinski sought the meeting “knowing that Trump has threatened retribution against his perceived political opponents.”
The meeting caused internal turmoil at MSNBC, where some hosts and employees saw value in access to the president-elect, while others saw it as “a troubling early sign of capitulation,” CNN reported.
Scarborough argued Tuesday that the flood negative social media reactions did not reflect “the real world.”
“All of us will do the best we can do and we’re all working towards a better America,” Scarborough said.
“Take it day by day, people,” Brzezinski said.
