MSNBC host Joe Scarborough expounded on his reasons for leaving the Republican Party on Wednesday, saying "they can't do anything" and that he couldn't see how people could support the party until it returned to "first principles."
Scarborough, a former GOP congressman from Florida, announced he was leaving the party and becoming an Independent during an appearance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" Tuesday evening. The news was not surprising, as Scarborough has blasted the party and President Donald Trump, a former friend, on a daily basis throughout 2017.
After "Morning Joe" played the clip of Scarborough's announcement, co-host and fiancée Mika Brzezinski said, "That's big."
"No, it's not. I think a lot of Republicans are feeling the same way," he said.
"Still a conservative," Brzezinski noted.
Scarborough said he could only "apologize" for the party for so long, saying he hoped Republicans would get into power and balance the budget, take care of entitlements, and push for education reform.
"You hope that they're going to do the things that they promised to do," Scarborough said, adding that the George W. Bush administration ballooned the deficit and engaged in "Wilsonian foreign policy."
"They promised when they got in power again that things would change," he said. "It hasn't changed ... They can't do anything, and they're kowtowing to somebody who inexplicably shows them no loyalty whatsoever. I don't know how people continue to be supportive of this president or this party until they return to first principles."