Morning Joe and Fox & Friends both applaud moderate Democrats after 2nd debate
MSNBC's Morning Joe and Fox News' Fox & Friends were in agreement on Wednesday morning, with hosts on both shows happy with the presence of moderate Democrats on last night's debate stage.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who is now an independent, was downright shaken the morning after the first debate in June, declaring it a "disaster for the Democratic Party" while blasting candidates' "free-for-all immigration policies" and more. But he was a lot happier with this one, expressing gratitude on Wednesday that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) were "flanked on the wings by some moderates" who had a more "practical" and not an "overly utopian approach."
"Any Donald Trump supporter that saw this debate stage might not have as many easy targets moving forward as they did after the last round of Democratic debates," Scarborough 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.
In particular, Scarborough spent much of this segment criticizing Democrats who he views as going too far to the left with their health-care proposals, blasting the idea that ObamaCare was "somehow too conservative" and arguing that former President Obama "pushed America as far he could possibly push them." Later in the show, Scarborough again wondered how some of the more liberal Democrats' policies will play with Trump voters. "Let's get real for one second, politically," he said.
Meanwhile, Fox & Friends had a similar take, with Brian Kilmeade saying that "the biggest benefit to the Democrats last night were the moderates that pushed back on some of these wild policies before Donald Trump gets a hold of them," per Media Matters for America's Bobby Lewis. Ainsley Earhardt also praised former Maryland Rep. John Delaney for his attitude of, "Look, you've got to talk about what you can really pass," with Earhardt also saying Warren is like a candidate for student body president who promises, "'to put snack machines in every classroom.' It's not going to happen!"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Inside a Black community’s fight against Elon Musk’s supercomputerUnder the radar Pollution from Colossal looms over a small Southern town, potentially exacerbating health concerns
-
Codeword: December 4, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Crossword: December 4, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
