During the Morning Joe show, Joe Scarborough, while leading a discussion on the rift between former President Donald Trump and his allies, expressed his exasperation by using a strong expletive on air. The conversation centered around the growing trend of Trump’s close associates turning against him to protect themselves from potential legal repercussions.
In particular, the show discussed the recent development involving former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who reportedly struck a deal to testify against Trump in the Georgia election crimes case in exchange for immunity. The revelation by ABC News’ Jon Karl that Meadows had informed a grand jury about the baselessness of Trump’s voter fraud claims, yet the former president persisted with attempts to overturn the election, was highlighted.
Reporter Ken Dilanian underscored the significance of independent individuals like Jenna Ellis refusing to sacrifice their livelihoods and integrity for Trump’s sake. This prompted Scarborough to ridicule the blind loyalty exhibited by Trump’s allies, emphasizing the impending consequences they now face.
While they’re running around playing, following Trump, thinking “Oh look what he’s saying. He’s getting away with. This is fun. We’re getting to own the libs. We’re getting to own the press. Oh my god.” Talk about a feeling of immunity. They felt like they had an immunity not only from the law, but from the truth. That they could say anything because this guy was the president of the United States, and he was lying every day, and sending out lawyers to lie every day, aay horrible things about federal judges, completely undermine the rule of law. Or at least, they thought in their mind, they could. They thought they could lie their way out of a presidential election. And then they wake up. And suddenly they see the charges are coming.
Scarborough concluded by wondering if Meadows and Ellis’ families had an intervention to tell them, “You have to protect yourself. Stop lying for this man.”
“You’ve been following this guy around for years, and you’re going to follow him to prison?” Scarborough said. “As Ken Dilanian said, it’s one thing to be making shit up outside of a courtroom. It’s another thing to say that into that courtroom and get five to ten years.”
Describing their actions as a result of a false sense of immunity, Scarborough lambasted their complicity in perpetuating falsehoods and undermining the rule of law. He highlighted the disillusionment that comes when facing the real prospect of legal consequences. Scarborough questioned whether Meadows and Ellis had received any intervention from their families, urging them to prioritize self-preservation over their allegiance to Trump.
Scarborough’s use of the profanity elicited an audible response from Mika Brzezinski, who promptly reminded him that it was an inappropriate choice of language for the broadcast.
