REPORT: Loyal ‘Morning Joe’ Fans Vow To Boycott Program Over Meeting With Trump

Some of the few remaining MSNBC viewers clinging to the network after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory are vowing to boycott “Morning Joe” after its hosts revealed they traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the Republican leader.

On Monday co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough announced that Trump had invited them to his Florida residence for a discussion about how he can win over Democrats. While they were doubtlessly disappointed by the election, the husband-wife duo admitted that they were caught flat-footed by the electorate’s preference for Trump. “But for nearly eighty million Americans, election denialism, public trials, and January 6th were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote. Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but talking with him,” she said.

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That didn’t sit well with Jeff Jarvis, professor at the City University of New York and author of BuzzMachine, who called the move a “betrayal of their colleagues, democracy, and us all. It is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance.” Jarvis spoke with CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter who reported that some of the most loyal “Morning Joe” fans are “furious about the meeting.”

Loyal "Morning Joe" viewers are furious about the Trump meeting. @jeffjarvis called it a "betrayal of their colleagues, democracy, and us all. It is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance." Some fans are vowing not to watch the show anymore. https://t.co/K61oNpdH6a

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2024

In a back-and-forth explainer, Brzezinski and Scarborough explained their need to reset communications with Trump. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.” But “what we did agree on was to restart communications,” Brzezinski said, CNN reported. Scarborough, predicting their revelation would prompt some degree of backlash, clarified that he isn’t about to back down in his criticism of the president-elect. “Don’t be mistaken. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump,” Scarborough said. “We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights” for “understanding these deeply unsettling times.”

CNN previously reported that Scarborough’s “cozy” relationship has been a source of concern at MSNBC going back years. The anchor once praised Trump as a “masterful politician” and often hosted him during the 2016 Republican primary. Trump told Fox News on Monday that it was Scarborough who first requested a face-to-face meeting. “Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication,” he said. “In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago.” In response to fears by Scarborough and other reporters of censorship, Trump told Fox he believes it is “very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair and open media or press.”

“While many others are calling for meetings, I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly, or even badly beyond comprehension,” Trump asserted. “I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line.”

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