MSNBC’s flagship Morning Joe show is not airing on Monday. Executives at NBCUniversal News Group are fearful the hosts or their regular guests could say something “inappropriate” about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
CNN reports a source “familiar with the matter” told them the “decision was made to avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”
NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde, MSNBC president Rashida Jones, and Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski supposedly made the decision jointly.
The husband-and-wife duo have been amongst the most hyperbolic Trump critics in recent months. In November, Scarborough claimed Trump “is running to end American democracy as we know it” and suggested only the judiciary stopped him from governing in the style of Adolf Hitler in his first term.
“Just because he hasn’t done it yet doesn’t mean he won’t do it when he gets a chance to do it, and if he is voted into office… he will imprison, he will execute, whoever he’s allowed to imprison, execute, uh, uh, uh, uh, drive from the country,” Scarborough ranted.
Senior Republicans such as J.D. Vance have suggested rhetoric like this, from both the corporate media and the Democrats, inspired the assassination attempt against Trump.
MORNING JOE: “In a 2nd term, Trump will imprison, he will execute whoever he is allowed to imprison, execute, drive from the country. Just look at his past. It’s not really hard to read” pic.twitter.com/3bs2YnC82K
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 21, 2023