The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” broke down for viewers Friday what it’s like to select a lead story for a morning show in the wake of a big political news day, which saw the death of a sitting congressman and the continued fallout from President Trump ordering that U.S. troops be withdrawn from northern Syria.
Spoiler alert: It’s hard.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski asked, “What do you lead with this morning?”
She then shared a series of Thursday night tweets from contributor Charlie Sykes, who wondered the same thing and listed all of the related headlines:
Helluva news cycle: what do you lead with?
*Mulvaney’s admission of a quid pro quo in Ukraine?
*The G-7 Trump Doral grift?
*Trumps awful Syria deal?… or
*The president’s apparent endorsement of ethnic cleansing?*The apparent collapse of the Trump stonewall?
*Rick Perry’s escape?
*Sundland breaking with Trump story?
*Elijah Cummings?
*Romney’s dramatic floor speech on Syria?
Brzezinski noted, “And not on Charlie’s list: the admiral who led the raid to take out Osama bin Laden saying it’s time for a new person in the Oval Office as former Defense Secretary James Mattis roasts Donald Trump.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough pointed out that with so much news to go over, the hosts and panel ran the risk of not conveying the seriousness. He worried that someone who just woke up and turned on the show might not realize “yesterday was one of the most significant days” in Trump’s administration.
Trump’s decision to withdraw troops in northern Syria leaves America’s Kurdish allies vulnerable to an attack from Turkish forces. This week he appeared to urge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to invade and attack the Kurds, who have been an ally to America in the fight against ISIS.