Monday’s edition of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” started off with laughter after Donald Trump lashed out at hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, suggesting their show should be canceled over “very low ratings” while misusing a word to attack them.
“Will Morning Joe be canceled?” Trump asked in a statement emailed to reporters shortly after 5 a.m. “He and Mika’s ratings are very low—they are having an extremely hard time finding an audience to listen to the Fake News they spurn,” Trump argued, without realizing that “spurn” means “rejection.”
“Losing them would be very sad—hope it doesn’t happen!” he said with an exclamation point.
In his statement, Trump also attacked MSNBC’s Joy Reid as a racist.
“On another front, looks like Unjoy Reid, the racist commentator on MSDNC (MSNBC), is toast. Her stupidity is only surpassed by her absolute lack of television persona. She never had it, and never will. The only thing she’s good at is spewing racist hate but obviously, no one is listening!” Trump argued.
Panelist Jonathan Lemire read the statement as the producers put up a graphic reading, “Morning Joe thanks loyal viewer: Florida retiree sends thoughts on show.”
It didn’t take long for Scarborough and Brzezinski to respond to the former president, laughing when they read his statement live on-air and telling him that “spurn” means to reject something with disdain or contempt, which is the opposite of what Trump seemingly intended to say.
“I can’t wait to hear what the 45th president decided was worthy to write about this morning on MLK Day,” Scarborough said. “Go ahead, hit it.”
“We do spurn fake news,” Brzezinski said and the targets of his attack laughed when they read his statement live on air.
“I never heard him talk about spurn, using that word,” Scarborough said. “I have not, have you? I don’t use the word, it’s new vocabulary. I’m looking it up. Secondly, he cannot quit us.”
Read Trump’s statement below.
NEW!
President Donald J .Trump:
"Will Morning Joe be canceled? He and Mika’s ratings are very low—they are having an extremely hard time finding an audience to listen to the Fake News they spurn. Losing them would be very sad—hope it doesn’t happen! On another front, looks like pic.twitter.com/hi5mV33ZET
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) January 17, 2022
