ADVERTISEMENT

Trump Tweets Mockery of 'Rapidly Fading' Morning Joe, Scarborough's Poor Insight

MSNBC
May 6, 2016

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump abruptly fired off tweets attacking MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Friday, mocking Morning Joe's ratings and Scarborough's political insight.

Trump mocked Scarborough for supporting Jeb Bush and suggested that the cable news host was pushing for a third-party candidate to run in the general election, which he said would ensure a Hillary Clinton victory.

Scarborough fired back quickly, calling Trump "Donnie boy," "fella," and "cowboy" and insisting Morning Joe's ratings were as high as ever. He predicted his show would "beat CNN for the seventh straight year," not noting the show loses its slot to Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel.

The tweets were surprising, given the two mens' seemingly friendly relationship over the course of Trump's candidacy. Scarborough has boasted repeatedly on Morning Joe of having the foresight that Trump could have an impact on the Republican race, and NBC insiders and media observers have criticized him and co-host Mika Brzezinski for being overly cozy with Trump and even boosting his nomination fight.

Only Wednesday did Scarborough interrupt co-host Willie Geist's tough questioning of Trump to tell the billionaire that his brother was delighted at Trump's success. Scarborough and Brzezinski have sometimes angrily responded to accusations that they are too close to the candidate, despite evidence to the contrary.

However, Scarborough also said Thursday that he couldn't vote for Trump if he didn't change his ways, and he said Friday there was not a "better time for someone to run as an independent candidate."

Note: This article has been updated.