Morning Joe is Pissed

Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, expressed his surprise and disappointment after NBC leadership decided to pull his show on Monday to make way for rolling breaking news coverage of an attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The decision left Scarborough, along with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, visibly frustrated as they addressed the issue on air.

"We’ve talked about it off the air, we’ll talk about it on the air, because we talk about everything on the air," Scarborough stated, emphasizing the show's commitment to transparency. The trio opened the show by sharing their confusion and dissatisfaction with NBC's decision-making process. Scarborough detailed that they were informed on Sunday evening that there would be a single news feed across all NBC news channels to cover the breaking news. However, this plan was not implemented, leaving the Morning Joe team without a clear explanation.

Scarborough speculated that the strong reaction to the decision to preempt their show might have prompted NBC leadership to alter their plans. "We were also told it was going to happen throughout the day, and I guess, after there was such a strong blowback about yesterday morning, I guess they changed their plans," he remarked. The unexpected change left the hosts feeling both surprised and disappointed.

Brzezinski and Geist echoed Scarborough's sentiments, with Geist highlighting his role in leading NBC’s coverage of the incident on Sunday morning alongside Savannah Guthrie. Brzezinski emphasized the importance of Morning Joe as a platform for civil discourse during critical times. "And so it seemed like now more than ever, is a day, a time, that we would like to be on. And I think our viewers agree with that," she added, underscoring the show's value to its audience. The hosts' candid discussion highlighted their commitment to providing a space for hard conversations, even amidst unexpected network decisions.