Frequent "Morning Joe" guest Donny Deutsch tried to get tough with Donald Trump on Friday by challenging him to a fight, but his dramatic call to meet the president in the "schoolyard" was swiftly rebuffed by the hosts he was trying to defend.
Deutsch had already gone off on Trump earlier in the show for his tweets targeting the looks of Mika Brzezinski and brains of Joe Scarborough, shouting and calling him a "vulgar pig" and "physically disgusting."
After Brzezinski and Scarborough appeared later in the show to address the president's attacks, Deutsch again warned he was going to "elevate" the conversation.
"Donald, if you're watching, we're from Queens. I'll meet you in the schoolyard, brother," Deutsch said. "You need to be schooled."
Scarborough and Brzezinski swiftly cut over the threat in groaning voices.
"No, I'm serious," Deutsch said. "This is where this needs to—"
"Can you put your sunglasses back on?" Scarborough asked, in a reference to Deutsch's attempt to troll Trump earlier in the program. Deutsch wore the shades and joked he just had work done on his face.
"He's a coward!" Deutsch said. "He's a coward."
"We want to take it out of the schoolyard," Scarborough said.
"I don't want to," Deutsch said.
"Well, I do," Scarborough said. "I want to teach our children to treat people with respect and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Deutsch was in high dudgeon about the attack on Brzezinski, although he once made her uncomfortable in the middle of the show. At the conclusion of the March 23, 2015, broadcast, he suddenly kissed her on the cheek, saying, "I just wanted to do that." Another guest noted, "That was weird," and Brzezinski looked and sounded less than pleased.