MSNBC's Joe Scarborough bashes Julián Castro for 'cheap shot' at Biden's memory
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
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro's debate swipe at former Vice President Joe Biden's memory was a big miss, according to MSNBC's Morning Joe.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski slammed Castro Friday after he questioned Biden's memory at the third Democratic debate and asked if he "already" forgot what he said "two minutes ago" during a discussion on health care. This attack, Brzezinski argued, was a "low blow."
"Castro essentially implied that Biden is senile," Brzezinski said. "... There were so many things wrong with that."
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.
Scarborough agreed, calling this a "cheap shot," a "low blow," and "ageism," concluding that "it is hard to imagine how Julián Castro could have looked much worse last night."
Of course, there was also the issue that, as the hosts pointed out, Castro appears to have been wrong. Castro has since argued his swipe was, in fact, correct and that he wasn't trying to go after Biden's age.
But the 2020 Democrat has been taking post-debate fire for this, including from some of his fellow candidates, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) saying it reminded her of something President Trump would tweet. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), however, has defended Castro, saying, "there are definitely moments when you listen to Joe Biden and you just wonder." Brendan Morrow
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.
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Minnesota's legal system buckles under Trump's ICE surgeIN THE SPOTLIGHT Mass arrests and chaotic administration have pushed Twin Cities courts to the brink as lawyers and judges alike struggle to keep pace with ICE’s activity
-
Big-time money squabbles: the conflict over California’s proposed billionaire taxTalking Points Californians worth more than $1.1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
