Kyle Cave

Contributing Writer

The MSNBC morning show “Morning Joe” is no stranger to controversies.  Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezezinski have feuded with many people in their 17 years on the air.

Over the years, the hosts have received backlash from the individuals they have feuded with; however, this time, it’s not just a few individuals who are upset with them—it’s their own viewers.

Two days after the presidential election, “The Morning Joe” hosts went to President-Elect Donald Trump’s home Mar-A-Lago to have a sit-down dinner with him.

During the meeting, Scarborough and Brezezinski said that there were “Plenty of disagreements to go around… but what we did agree on was to
restart communications.”

Scarborough also reassured viewers, “Don’t be mistaken: We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insight that is going to better equip all of us in
understanding these deeply unsettling times.”

Brezezinski also addressed the inevitable question that will be asked of why both would go and meet with President-Elect Trump after the staunch criticism they have had of him in the past. She responded, “Why wouldn’t we?”

According to two sources from CNN, the “Morning Joe” hosts “feared retribution” from the President-Elect, which raises questions about media ethics.

Response to this meeting with President-Elect Trump from MSNBC viewers has been swift. Many viewers expressed their disdain for this meeting on X.

One User, by the name of “BrooklynDad_Defiant,” said: “Joe Scarborough and Mika from ‘Morning Joe,’ their ratings plummeting, made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago because they decided if you can’t beat him, grovel for access, and help normalize him. AGAIN. STOP WATCHING ‘MORNING JOE’”.

Another user by the name of “Cat4GoodTrouble,” a watcher of the show, said she would stop watching the show for good saying: “Never watching ‘Morning Joe’ again. May their ratings tank as much as their reputation as of today.”

Sonny Hostin, one of the co-hosts of the talk show “The View,” said the hosts meeting with the President-Elect was “kissing the ring.” Hostin also
added that “America needs a free press that is willing to speak truth to power right now, more than ever.”

Many individuals are unhappy with the meeting with the President-Elect, and in the coming months and years with the incoming administration, the nation will have to see how the rest of the media will decide to react to political figures involving themselves with influential journalists.