After Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and fury,' Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough reminds viewers that he warned them
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
After President Trump vowed Tuesday to meet North Korea with "fire and fury" if the country's nuclear threats continue, Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough took a moment to tell America "I told you so." When Scarborough saw Trump's "chilling words," he said he "couldn't help but go back" to a Morning Joe discussion from Aug. 3, 2016, in which he and co-host Mika Brzezinski had explicitly warned America about the dangers of putting Trump near nuclear weapons.
In the clip from last August, Scarborough recounted how Trump had asked "three times" during an hour-long briefing about the use of nuclear weapons. At one point, Scarborough claims Trump went so far as to ask "if we have them, why can't we use them." "Be careful America and be careful Republican leaders," Brzezinski said.
Perhaps most unsettling in light of Trump's recent threat was Morning Joe's prior discussion about the "time frame" between a decision to use nuclear weapons and when those weapons would be launched. Former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden told Scarborough and Brzezinski that the nuclear weapons system "is designed for speed and decisiveness." "It's not designed to debate the decision," Hayden said.
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.
Watch the warning that Morning Joe issued last year below, and head over to Mediaite to watch Scarborough relive it Wednesday. Becca Stanek
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The EU’s war on fast fashionIn the Spotlight Bloc launches investigation into Shein over sale of weapons and ‘childlike’ sex dolls, alongside efforts to tax e-commerce giants and combat textile waste
-
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast: a ‘highly entertaining ride’The Week Recommends Mystery-comedy from the creator of Derry Girls should be ‘your new binge-watch’
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data