MSNBC
Mika Brzezinski (left) and Joe Scarborough (right) host MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
CNN
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The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday blasted network executives and expressed disappointment in the decision to pull their flagship morning show from the air on Monday, saying viewers were not given clear answers on the matter.
Joe Scarborough, along with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, said that their show staff was told on Sunday night that MSNBC would be replacing all of its programming with NBC News-only coverage in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. But as he noted, “that never happened.”
“I don’t know why it didn’t happen. Our team didn’t get a clear answer as to why it didn’t happen,” Scarborough said, “But it didn’t happen.”
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“We had been told it would continue all day, but I guess they changed their plans after such a strong backlash yesterday morning,” Scarborough added. “We were very surprised and very disappointed.”
Spokespeople for NBCUniversal News Group and MSNBC did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment Tuesday morning.
CNN first reported Sunday evening that NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, in consultation with MSNBC President Rashida Jones, Scarborough and Brzezinski, made the decision to drop the top-rated morning show on Monday.
In the wake of the assassination attempt on President Trump, some of the former president’s supporters have slammed the press and liberal media commentators for providing harsh reporting that offered a warning about what the next four years under the former president’s administration might look like.
MSNBC in particular has come under fire from Trump’s allies, some of whom have also attacked the network’s parent company, Comcast.
The decision to pull the plug on “Morning Joe” was made with those political realities in mind. A person familiar with the matter told CNN on Sunday that the decision was made to pull the plug on the popular roundtable over concerns that guests could make inappropriate remarks that could undermine the show and the network as a whole. Given that the story is breaking news, the person said, it makes more sense to keep the breaking news on air during tense political times.
“We want to be here for the crowd. We know you all have faith in us and we have the utmost respect for you,” Geist said. “That’s why we’re here today. I wish we could have been here yesterday.”
Brzezinski added that “Morning Joe” is a special show because it’s “a place where we can have difficult conversations in a civil way.”
“So now, more than ever, seemed like the day and the time that we wanted to come on,” Brzezinski said. “And I think viewers would agree.”
