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MSNBC Pulls ‘Morning Joe’ Off The Air After Assassination Attempt

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4 months ago

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Cable news is still scrambling to adjust its coverage two days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, and even MSNBC is taking a hit, putting its flagship “Morning Joe” program on the back burner in favor of continued live coverage.

CNN reported on the change, which will last through Monday according to sources who said that breaking news reporting will take the usual slot of hosts Joe Scarborough and Mike Brzezinski. The change puts “one of its most recognizable programs on the sidelines” as the country rallies around President Trump and he prepares to take the stage at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off Monday in Milwaukee. The former president must also announce his vice presidential pick before he is formally nominated on Thursday, another subplot that is provoking intense speculation after a phalanx of black SUVs with government plates were spotted outside the home of a final contender on Sunday.

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“Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening,” a spokesperson for NBCUniversal News Group said in a statement to CNN. “As we continue to cover this story into the week, the networks will continue to cross simulcast, alternating between NBC News, NBC News NOW and ‘MSNBC Reports,’ so there is one news feed covering this developing situation.”

A person familiar with MSNBC’s decision-making said Cesar Conde, the chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, reached an agreement with Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, as well as the two hosts.

A last-second turn of the head by President Trump on Saturday meant a bullet from a reported AR-15 rifle meant to kill him instead nicked his ear before Secret Service agents tackled Trump to the ground during a Saturday speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. MAGA allies have condemned the protection agency’s procedures as well as antagonism by members of the mainstream media, including Scarborough and Brzezinski who have made a regular habit out of characterizing President Trump as an existential threat to democracy. Their warnings have veered into the absurd: shortly before the first presidential debate, Scarborough predicted that President Trump would “steal” President Joe Biden’s microphone if the hosts muted him.

The recriminations about Biden’s catastrophic debate performance even led to an on-air spat between the husband and wife couple, and Scarborough was conspicuously absent from his hosting duties one day later.

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CNN noted that this is not the first time MSNBC has upended its regular coverage following a seismic political event. Following the deadly October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, the liberal network pulled three of its Muslim talents from the airwaves and eventually booted longtime host Mehdi Hasan from the network. The changes left some of the network’s progressive staffers extremely uncomfortable, according to Semafor.

Fox News reported that some conservative opinion makers on X were rather gleeful about the latest changeup.

“On this uniquely impactful morning, #MSNBC pulls its signature show #MorningJoe, for fear that some jackwagon panelist would say something grotesquely inappropriate. Profoundly pathetic… and probably a wise move on their part,” wrote Newsweek columnist Mark Davis. Newsweek’s Josh Hammer said the shift was a blistering example of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

MSNBC “has ditched the nerd prom king and queen this morning and went with a straight anchor/news desk delivery. How do you read that? Afraid the Morning Joe team won’t be able to control their tongues?” asked Chris Stigall snarkily.

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