MSNBC contributor fuels 'Morning Joe' boycott over meeting with Donald Trump, calls show 'disgusting'

WASHINGTON, DC: MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin encouraged a boycott of her network's show 'Morning Joe' after its hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed they had a meeting with president-elect Donald Trump, reported Fox News.

Scarborough and Brzezinski were two of the fiercest critics of Trump, comparing him with Adolf Hitler ahead of the general election. As such, it came as a shock when they shared on Monday, November 18, that they had paid a visit to Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, November 15, in an effort to revive communications.

The news of the meeting was confirmed by Trump himself, who told Fox News during an interview, "I received a call from Joe Scarborough requesting a meeting for him and Mika, and I agreed that it would be a good thing if such a meeting took place. Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication … In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago... The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future."

Jennifer Rubin voices her opinion on the meeting with Donald Trump

Jennifer Rubin took to social media platform Bluesky to voice her opinion on Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski's decision to extend an olive branch to Donald Trump after dragging him through the dirt during the election cycle.

She reacted to a post which claimed that the hosts had "sold out" their audience for access with "Disgusting."

"The market works great," she noted in a following post, adding "You can stop watching 'Morning Joe' anytime."

"On MJ: If you don't appreciate the audience you have, betray that audience and lose their trust you are ging to lose lots of them. I have seen this movie," she later stated.

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski defend their meeting with Donald Trump

The co-hosts claimed that Friday, November 15, marked their first meeting with Donald Trump in seven years and that they let the president-elect know that they didn't see "eye to eye on a lot of issues."

Scarborough said that they discussed issues such as abortion, mass deportation, and threats of retribution against political opponents and media outlets.

"For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back – why wouldn’t we?" asked Brzezinski.

"Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country. We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump’s actions and words in the coarsening of public debate," she argued. "But for nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, January 6, were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote. Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him," she added.

Internet slams 'Morning Joe' co-hosts over their 'betrayal'

Netizens reacting to the news claimed that the hosts had betrayed their audience by meeting with Donald Trump whom they had criticized in the harshest of terms throught the 2024 election cycle. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"#BoycottMorningJoe I mean how do you go from warning viewers of the upcoming fascism under Trump if he wins to running down there to kiss the ring? They flushed their integrity down the toilet. Done with @morningmika and @Morning_Joe BYE," wrote a user.

"MSNBC betrayed its journalistic duty to its audience by allowing Morning Joe hosts to have a private off-the-record meeting with Trump — then gaslight us for two days in a row as to why they met with Trump in the first place," noted another.

"This is nothing more than an a** kissing attempt to stay relevant and keep their network in good graces. This reeks of cowardice and self-preservation and does nothing for the moral good of this country," stated a third.

"How humiliating for you @morningmika & Joe. You have zero credibility with your audience, The Trumpers aren't leaving Fox & Friends to watch you & Trump immediately decided to embarrass Joe. I'll never tune in again," expressed a fourth.

"So Morning Joe sold out. They surrendered to Pres Trump and his voters. All of the hate & taunts they spewed for years is apparently forgotten. Joe & Mika reached out directly to Pres Trump with an olive branch. If the whack pack doesn’t quit en masse, they’re all hypocrites," observed another.

"@JoeMSNBC and @morningmika - you sold yourselves out. Pathetic. Add me to the list of viewers lost. Especially you @morningmika - you were so disgusted by Trump and then you go down to meet with him? Hypocrisy looks good on both of you," echoed yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.