MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts and fierce Donald Trump critics Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed Monday that they had a “personal” meeting with the president-elect in Florida to “restart communications” — after admitting that voters in overwhelmingly made their choice. .
Scarborough and Brzezinski, who have repeatedly attacked the president-elect over the years, said they had a face-to-face with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday — their first meeting in seven years — after they tied the knot. . after his election victory.
“Five years of political war has deeply divided Washington and the country. We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump’s actions and words in the public debate,” Brzezinski, 57, said as he opened Monday’s show with the stunning revelation.
“But for nearly 80 million Americans, the denial of the election, the public trials, January 6 were not as important as the issues that drove them to return Donald Trump to the White House with their vote.”
“Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts not just talking about Donald Trump, but talking to him,” she added.
Scarborough, 61, said the trio spoke about issues including “abortion, mass deportation and threats of political retaliation against political opponents and media outlets”.
“We talked about it a little bit,” he said.
“It’s not going to be a surprise to anyone who watches this show, who’s watched it over the last year or over the last decade, that we haven’t seen eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we’ve told him so.”
Brzezinski then added: “What we agreed on was the resumption of communications.”
She went on to acknowledge that Trump “was upbeat and upbeat” during the private meeting — and that “he seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the more divisive issues.”
Trump, 78, told Fox News Digital in an interview published Monday that the meeting was “extremely cordial” and the pair praised his “perfect” 2024 campaign.
“A lot of things were discussed and I really appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication,” the incoming 47th president said. “In many ways, it’s too bad it wasn’t done a long time ago.”
They “congratulated me on running a ‘great and perfect campaign, one for the history books,’ which I truly believe it was, but it was also a campaign I worked long and hard on—perhaps longer and harder than any presidential candidate in history. “, he added.
While he feels “an obligation to the American public and to our own country to be open and available to the press,” Trump also said, “If it’s not dealt with fairly, though, this is going to end.”
Scarborough, meanwhile, said sources had told him that Trump might approach his second term differently given that he cannot run for president again.
“Someone close to Donald Trump told me last weekend, this is a president who is not seeking re-election, so maybe, just maybe now might be the time for both parties to get to work,” Scarborough said.
The backlash against the TV couple was swift on social media – with many slamming the pair for their “insolence” and for “bending the knee” by arranging a face-to-face.
“Hitler gets a lot more meeting requests than I would have thought,” Republican strategist Scott Jennings wrote on X, referring to the co-host’s past attacks on Trump, comparing him to the Nazi leader.
Washington Examiner Chief Political Correspondent Byron York tweeted: “Annals of insolence: They call Trump a fascist and much, much more, and then, just 22 days after his ‘Nazi-like’ rally, they fly to Florida for an audience”.
Eli Lake, a Free Press columnist, added, “Why would Trump bother talking to these people other than to urge them to seek mental health counseling?”
Some critics said Scarborough and Brezinski were simply trying to save their careers. “Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski did not go to Mar-a-Lago to achieve unity with Trump. They went because their network has dropped 50% in viewership and is on the verge of being sold – so they went and kissed the ring,” wrote one X user.
In an effort to head off the backlash, Scarborough had said during his monologue that the co-hosts – who have previously accused the Republican of being a threat to democracy – were not trying to “defend or normalize” Trump.
“We are here to report on it and provide you with insights that will better equip us all to understand these deeply troubling times,” he said.
In a markedly different tone from his first term, Trump also told Fox: “While many others are calling for meetings, I’m not looking for retribution or grandstanding or to destroy the people who treated me so badly.” very unjust, or even bad beyond understanding”.
“I’m always looking to give a second and even a third chance, but I’m never willing to give a fourth chance,” he said. “That’s where I hold the line.”
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