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Behind the Mar-a-Lago meeting |
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski's fence-mending meeting with President-elect Donald Trump has the media world buzzing. Now I have some new reporting to share about why it happened.
Yesterday, as outraged "Morning Joe" fans registered their objections on social media sites, Scarborough defended his outreach to Trump, telling associates that having face time with a world leader is a no-brainer. Some of his MSNBC colleagues agreed. But there was more to the Mar-a-Lago meeting.
According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski were credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration. Knowing that Trump has threatened retribution against his perceived political opponents, and that Trump has promoted lies about Scarborough and Brzezinski in the past, the MSNBC hosts decided to reach out to the president-elect.
The two sources generally agreed with Joe and Mika's impression of the situation at hand – namely, that the incoming Trump administration could use its wide-ranging powers to punish people deemed enemies. Trump ally Elon Musk wrote on X overnight, in a post supporting Matt Gaetz for attorney general, that America needs Gaetz to "put powerful bad actors in prison."
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Within MSNBC, there are a variety of opinions about what Trump and his allies might do. For that reason, there are a wide range of feelings about the "Morning Joe" meeting, according to half a dozen employees.
Some hosts and employees are taking a realpolitik view, saying that access to the president-elect is a valuable part of reporting and covering the news. Others are calling the meeting was a troubling early sign of capitulation to a would-be dictator. Joe and Mika are not the only MSNBC personalities who have privately wondered if they will be targeted.
Several of the sources pointed out that Steve Bannon, just last week, warned MSNBC staffers to "preserve your documents" while predicting Gaetz's Justice Department would pursue cases against them. Bannon name-checked Andrew Weissmann and Ari Melber and said "you young producers" better "lawyer up."
To be sure, there are some inside MSNBC who believe the fears are overblown. At the management level, there was no concern over Scarborough and Brzezinski's meeting. (An MSNBC rep declined to comment.) Here's my full story...
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What Joe is saying this morning |
Yesterday, Scarborough was so inundated with negative feedback that he deleted his X post about his meeting, thereby hiding the ugly feedback. This morning he said on air that the testy online reactions were not reflective of "the real world."
"We were flooded with phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, very positive, very supportive, going 'I understand what you did,' etcetera," he said. "All of us will do the best we can do and we're all working towards a better America," he added, prompting Brzezinski to chime in: "Take it day by day, people."
"Day by day," Scarborough affirmed, adding, "you can predict the future by shaping the future." For now, Scarborough is shaping a less hostile relationship with the incoming president.
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>> One MSNBC regular told me, Not since Jeff Bezos "refused to endorse did a news outlet so betray and misread its audience."
>> A network source pushed back on that: "Any practicing journalist or news host would take an off the record meeting with the incoming President of the United States. End of discussion."
>> Democratic political consultant Chuck Rocha on CNN's "NewsNight" last night: "I think Joe and Mika just don't want to be audited."
>> Veteran media critic Jeff Jarvis said on the same show that the "bended knee" was "a betrayal of the staff at MSNBC who do still criticize Donald Trump, who now feel that they are in some jeopardy because of that, because he has threatened the press."
>> A "source close to the show" told The Daily Beast that the "Morning Joe" trip to Mar-a-Lago was "f---ing worth it," adding, "the temperature has to come down."
>> Nikki Haley tweeted: "Let's be clear, Joe and Mika didn't suddenly see the light, they saw their ratings. They realized they needed Trump for their survival."
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Here's the headline atop Tom Jones' Poynter newsletter this morning: "Trump praises a 'free, fair and open' press — as long as it falls in line."
Indeed, that's the overall impression from Trump's Monday morning interview with Fox News reporter Brooke Singman, which may have been spurred by Joe and Mika's meeting. Jones says "Trump is a fan of a free and open press as long as he agrees with the coverage. Which, of course, really isn't a free and open press."
Trump said Scarborough called him asking for a meeting, and "many others" are calling too. There are multiple ways to interpret what he said next: "I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly, or even badly beyond comprehension. I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line."
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What a sight this will be: When Musk's SpaceX conducts its sixth test flight of Starship this afternoon, Trump will be there, watching the launch along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is "another example of Musk’s increasing role in Trump's orbit," CNN's story notes. (Orbit, get it?) It's also a made-for-TV-and-streaming spectacle, sure to receive wall-to-wall cable news coverage.
>> The NYT's top story in print this morning is titled "Chop First and Fix Later: How Musk Tames Costs"
>> Forbes reporter Alison Durkee writes: "How Elon Musk Could Benefit From Trump’s FCC Nominee Brendan Carr"
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What if Elon had acquired Substack? |
There was a time when he tried. Musk made an "unexpected proposal" to buy Substack in April 2023, months after he completed his purchase of Twitter, the NYT's Jessica Testa and Ben Mullin reported Monday. Musk saw value in Substack's paid subscription model and he "floated the acquisition on a call with Chris Best, chief executive of Substack," but Best wouldn't entertain it...
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From Fox Biz to Transportation secretary |
Former congressman Sean Duffy was off his Fox Business show "The Bottom Line" last Thursday and Friday because, unbeknownst to his Fox producers, he was interviewing to be Transportation secretary. His appointment was announced Monday evening – showing that the Fox-to-Trump pipeline is continuing to flow. Duffy is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, who co-hosts "Fox & Friends Weekend" alongside – until last week – Pete Hegseth.
>> Semafor's Max Tani commented last night, "The people most likely to immediately benefit from a new Trump White House are the B and C list Fox hosts who are about to get a lot more on air minutes because so many people are leaving for the admin."
>> Fox wished Duffy "the best of luck in his return to Washington" and said "The Bottom Line" "will continue with Dagen McDowell joined by rotating co-hosts."
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Today's new nonfiction releases |
Bill Clinton is rolling out his new memoir "Citizen" with a TV tour that includes Stephen Colbert's show tonight.
Also new on bookshelves today: Peggy Noonan's "A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings;" James Chappel's "Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age;" and "Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation," written by Jim O'Heir, who played Jerry on the beloved sitcom.
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'News influencers' lean to the right |
Liam Reilly writes: A new Pew study indicates that one-fifth of adults "regularly" get their news from so-called news influencers. That figure jumps to almost 40% when looking at adults aged 18 to 29, the study found. What's more, Pew showed that despite claims that social media platforms muzzle conservative voices, news influencers were more likely to lean conservative, with 27% explicitly identifying as Republican or pro-Trump, compared to the 21% who identified as liberal. Here's my full story...
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