MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski ‘bend a knee’ to Trump — and get roasted by everyone

MSNBC’s Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski announced on Monday morning that they met with President-elect Donald Trump this past weekend to “restart communications,” and the news created an immediate firestorm.
Viewers on the left decried what they saw as capitulation and berated the sell-outs for “bending a knee.” Did MSNBC, seen by many as an integral part of any resistance to a Trump presidency, “just throw in the towel?” one viewer asked on Twitter/X.
Many on the social media platform pointed to Trump’s appearances on the pair’s show in 2016 — which viewers believed led to Trump’s normalization and election victory over Hillary Clinton.
“What a huge mistake,” one viewer tweeted. “The problem has always been that Trump has been normalized. Why continue? We’re falling back into the trap.”
Meanwhile, Trump supporters mocked the Morning Joe hosts for their weakness and panic over ratings. Many took their olive branch and broke it, while saying, “No thanks,” to any peace accord.
“It’s morning in America! Grab a cup of coffee, swallow your pride and bend the knee,” Dissident Media tweeted.
Here’s how Scarborough and Brzezinski described the meeting, which they say came after an overture from Trump: “It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,” Brzezinski told viewers, before she passed the mic to Scarborough.
“We talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets,” he said. “We talked about that a good bit, and it’s going to come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show has watched it over the past year, or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.”
Added Brzezinski: “What we did agree on, was to restart communications.”
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.com, an anti-Trump media company, reminded Twitter that Trump “repeatedly accused Joe of committing a murder and repeatedly trashed Mika about her intellect and plastic surgery.” He added: ”I’m so glad I have nothing to do with this world. Turn your TV off.”
More Filipkowski: “Scarborough said Trump is Hitler and a serial rapist, and Trump said Joe left Congress because he murdered a staffer, but let’s put all that behind us now and chill because the show must go on.”
Tom Bevan, Co-Founder and President of Real Clear Politics, tweeted: “Joe and Mika met with Hitler over the weekend.”
Jeff Jarvis of CUNY‘s Newmark Journalism School, was cynical: “Oh, Lord. Joe and Mika went to Mar-a-lago. ‘What we did agree on,’ Mika said, ‘was to restart communications.’ Access. ‘He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats.’ Credulity. They revert to their mean.”
Here’s a sampling of other reactions:
“Joe and Mika broadcasting their Stockholm Syndrome on Morning Joe this morning. What a disgusting display of capitulation.”
“Two weeks ago these two called Trump, Hitler, a Nazi/fascist, a threat to democracy, etc. Now that Joe and Mika are getting destroyed in ratings because of MSNBC’s dishonesty, they go to meet the President-Elect. What frauds.”
“What the hell is going on with Joe Scarborough and Mika? Did they just throw in the towel?”
“A total surrender, no matter which way they attempt to spin it. Complete cowardice & capitulation. Trump & Elon has them shook; they folded like cheap chairs. Bend the knee. Disgusting or sad. Not sure which.”
“Morning Joe is officially dead. They literally went to Mar-a-Lago to bend the knee and capitulate. … that’s not journalism or telling truth to power. It’s pathetic.”