“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough was not a fan of President Donald Trump’s speech to congress on Tuesday night, saying on Wednesday morning that the address was full of “insults,” “exaggerations” and “partisanship [from] top to bottom.”
“There’s just so much nonsense,” he said on MSNBC. “I cannot believe an independent voter wouldn’t look at this speech and just turn it off and just go, ‘Enough, enough.’”
In particular, Scarborough did not enjoy when the president favorably compared his first month back in office to George Washington.
“It has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency … is the most successful in the history of our nation,” Trump said on Tuesday night. “And what makes it even more impressive is that, do you know who No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? I don’t know about that list, but we’ll take it.”
Scarborough said the speech was more of a “pep rally” — an opinion co-host Willie Geist shared, saying it “felt like a campaign speech” from President Trump, complete with a dig at Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he once again called “Pocahontas”; That longtime nickname stems from Sen. Warren incorrectly claiming she had Native American ancestry for years.
While the “Morning Joe” team was critical of the president’s speech, the “average Joe” seemed to enjoy it. A CBS/YouGov poll immediately afterwards showed 76% of Americans “approved” of the address, while 74% found it to be both “presidential” and “entertaining.”
Still, several other major media figures similarly shared their displeasure with Trump’s 100-minute speech. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, for example, said it was “disgusting” that President Trump made 13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel an honorary Secret Service agent. Fellow MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace also was not a fan of the move, implying she hoped Daniel did not kill himself like some officers who responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot.
“I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters and if he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide,” she said.
Four police officers who responded to the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, killed themselves within the following year.
