2020 Democratic debates
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough pans the debate as a 'disaster for the Democratic Party'
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough wasn't exactly thrilled with Thursday's Democratic debate.
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, on Friday's Morning Joe declared the second round of Democratic debates a downright "disaster for the Democratic party," saying that as a fierce opponent of President Trump who wants him to lose re-election, "my only hope is people were not watching."
Scarborough was particularly tough on former Vice President Joe Biden, who he argued was "off his game" and turned in "one of the more disturbing debate performances I have seen since Ronald Reagan's first debate in 1984."
"It was one of those moments where you're going, 'My god, is he going to complete his sentence?'" Scarborough added.
Sanders also received a poor review from Scarborough, who said the Vermont senator was "yelling all night" and clearly "didn't prepare." But Scarborough didn't sound thrilled with just about anyone on the stage, criticizing the entire field for "yelling at each other" rather than focusing on Trump, speculating that a casual viewer who tuned in would have thought, "I thought Donald Trump was a clown show. I'm changing the channel."
The Morning Joe host additionally blasted each of the Democrats on the stage for what he called their "free-for-all immigration policies," which he contended will lose them key states like Wisconsin in 2020. Even Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who many pundits have concluded was the winner of the debate, didn't get a glowing reaction from Scarborough, who asked, "Is there really a Democrat today in 2020 that wants to say ... 'Even in '74, I would have supported busing'?"
Scarborough capped off this five-plus minute rant by again hoping that "only Trump was watching last night." Given Wednesday night's big ratings, though, Scarborough likely has some bad news headed his way. Brendan Morrow