MSNBC's Joe Scarborough calls Andy Puzder a 'loser' for saying fast-food employees are 'the worst of the worst'

Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough is livid with Andy Puzder, President Trump's labor secretary nominee, for remarks he made about fast-food workers in 2011. When speaking at two different universities in 2011, Puzder — the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the company that operates Hardee's and Carl's Jr. — described hiring employees in the fast-food industry as picking "the best of the worst." "In fast food, you sort of compete for the best of the worst," Puzder said, per CNN Money's report. "In other words, you're not getting the Microsoft guys. At Hardee's we were getting the worst of the worst. Nobody wanted to work at Hardee's."
Scarborough was incensed:
CNN Money pointed out that on other occasions, Puzder has had more positive things to say about his employees and their jobs. Puzder noted in a May 2011 radio interview that California's high unemployment rate had allowed him to hire college graduates for these "very, very meaningful jobs," and in 2014, when testifying before the Senate, he said he's seen his employees' "pride and determination in their careers and in their lives."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Puzder's Senate confirmation hearing to lead the Labor Department is slated for Feb. 2.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?
Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosis
the week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year