MSNBC is squirming over Joe Scarborough's friendship with Donald Trump
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough has an increasingly glowing opinion of his friend, Donald Trump — a fact that is making some people at his network squirm, CNN reports. According to sources who spoke anonymously, Scarborough's admiration for Trump has been described as "over-the-top" and "unseemly," with The Washington Post deeming Trump's appearances on the show like "a cozy social club."
"People don't like that Joe is promoting Trump," one person said.
Scarborough and his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, are described as being close friends with Trump and his family. A report about the hosts visiting Trump's room during the New Hampshire primary led to a small controversy that Scarborough dismissed by saying the two of them talked to Trump for "less than five minutes." Scarborough has also sought to clarify his stance by explaining a slip-up in which Trump called him a "supporter" was incorrect. "It's not support... and I would dare say that I am the only person who has hung up on Donald Trump on live television," he said.
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But that hasn't done much to calm nerves at MSNBC. And while Scarborough shot down the possibility of being Trump's vice president, he also admitted on a radio show that he'd do "just about anything to try to get the White House back."
"The higher-ups are definitely aware about what's going on. It's an issue," another MSNBC staffer said.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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