“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said they met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, the first time they had seen him face-to-face in seven years.
“We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so,” Scarborough told MSNBC viewers.
“What we did agree on was to restart communications,” Brzezinski added. “In this meeting, he was upbeat, cheerful and he seemed interested in finding common ground on some of the most divisive issues.”
Brzezinski then addressed what she knew would be on viewers’ minds.
“For those asking why we would go speak with the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us,” she continued. “I guess I would ask back: ‘Why wouldn’t we?'”
"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,” Brzezinski said. "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."
Scarborough made sure that viewers didn’t misinterpret the meeting.
"Don't be mistaken," he said. "We're not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We're here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times."
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika went to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and agreed to “reset” their relationship.
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) November 18, 2024
Once again… Democrats never actually thought Trump was Hitler or a fascist dictator.
If you were propagandized, it’s ok.
You got played.pic.twitter.com/Y7WnIWPbI6
The meeting comes amid steep declines in viewership for MSNBC in the wake of Trump's historic landslide win.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski didn’t go to Mar-a-Lago to achieve unity with Trump.
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) November 18, 2024
They went because their network is down 50% viewership and is on the verge of being sold — so they went and kissed the ring.
Total Trump victory. 😭 pic.twitter.com/nBBjgul6fF
Your reminder, as I’ve said for years on the air and in print, 90% of what you see on networks like this is all performance art.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) November 18, 2024
Because why else would Joe & Mika want to reset their relationship with someone they repeatedly called a fascist for 8 years?
Totally phony people. https://t.co/9HLnhoOHA1
MSNBC ratings collapse:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 12, 2024
Joy Reid - down 54.6%
Ari Melber - down 49.6%
Chris Hayes - down 47.2%
Alex Wagner - down 53.6%
Morning Joe - down 39.6%
Stephanie Ruhle - down 67%
Andrea Mitchell - down 39.7%
https://t.co/MwnpkM791w
This is amusing…Scarborough groveling to Trump on Friday after yrs of watching his ratings grow when he trashed him and now w/ratings decline and biden out,trying to play it both ways by pretending to his viewers his Friday visit was something else. You can’t make this stuff up pic.twitter.com/d8CCdOZ5P5
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) November 18, 2024