"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough said Tuesday that he is sounding more like a Democrat every morning on his MSNBC show.
Scarborough brought up the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as part of the negotiations to end the government shutdown, which ended Monday when 33 Senate Democrats joined 48 Republicans in approving a stopgap spending bill.
However, CHIP funding was always in the legislation before Congress and Democrats didn't want to advance the funding legislation on Friday because it did not address DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. While DACA was not part of Monday's bill, Scarborough characterized the six-year extension of CHIP as a victory for Democrats, despite it being in Friday's bill as well.
"They got CHIP funding, right?" Scarborough asked panelist Noah Rothman about Democrats.
"Yes, but they sacrificed the narrative that it was Republicans who were trying to hold CHIP funding hostage and then CHIP funding is gone. It's off the table, and know we're talking about DACA," Rothman said. "DACA is now the issue that was shutting down the government, so we sort of skipped a step there."
"Yeah, but if I'm a Democrat, and of course I'm not, but God knows I'm sounding more like one every morning, if I were a Democrat—" Scarborough said before continuing on about CHIP funding being in the legislation.
"I'm very proud of you," Scarborough's co-host and fiancee Mika Brzezinski, a Democrat, said.
Scarborough has been highly critical of Republicans and President Donald Trump since he took office, often questioning his mental fitness for the job. Scarborough, a former GOP congressman from Florida, announced last year he had left the Republican Party and become an independent.