MSNBC's Joe Scarborough offers brutally blunt advice to Democrats on DACA deal, government shutdown


The Morning Joe team was cutting nobody slack on Tuesday morning, with host Joe Scarborough reserving his toughest love for Democrats. The blunt conversation came as Republican lawmakers have concluded they do not have the votes to pass a long-term federal government funding deal by Friday's deadline, leaving them focused on passing another stopgap spending measure and raising the odds of a government shutdown. Democrats, meanwhile, are using the budget to insist Republicans protect DREAMers — immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children — although there is division in the ranks over to what extent the party is willing to compromise to reach a deal.
Scarborough, though, didn't see any conflict. "You should not give [Republicans] a single vote in keeping the government running," he told the Democrats. "That's their job. This is their government. This is their Congress. This is their presidency … Don't give them a single vote unless they give you a clean bill on DREAMers."
Scarborough insisted that "if you do, you are too weak and too spineless and too stupid when it comes to politics and too cowardly to be given control of Congress in 2018."
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.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski also offered some advice for Republicans — chiefly that "sucking up" to the president "is not going to help you." Watch below. Jeva Lange
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Magazine solutions - September 19, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - September 19, 2025
-
Magazine printables - September 19, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - September 19, 2025
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants