Morning Joe hosts slam 'lock him up' chants against Trump: 'It's sickening'
The hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe aren't on board with the "lock him up" chants against President Trump.
Trump attended Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday and at one point was met with boos from the crowd, as well as a chant of "lock him up." That phrase originated during the 2016 presidential election when Trump supporters chanted "lock her up" in reference to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with Eric Trump at a recent rally also encouraging a "lock him up" chant against former Vice President Joe Biden's son.
But on Monday's Morning Joe, Trump critics Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski argued the chant is just as wrong when used by Trump's critics as when it's used by his supporters, with Brzezinski calling it "sickening" in both contexts.
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.
"Of course it's sickening," Scarborough agreed. "We are Americans, and we do not do that. We do not want the world hearing us chant 'lock him up,' to this president or to any president."
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) was on the same page, in a Monday appearance on CNN saying he has a "hard time" seeing a crowd chant "lock him up" about the president.
"I frankly think the office of the president deserves respect, even when the actions of our president, at times, don't," he said, adding he "certainly" hopes not to see this chant continuing to be used by Democrats in the future.
Clearly, there's plenty of disagreement on this front, though, with the Morning Joe clip getting slapped with a Twitter ratio. 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.
-
Has ‘poppy politics’ got out of hand?Talking Point ‘Toxic’ debate over red and white poppies is another front in the culture wars
-
Vladimir Putin’s ‘nuclear tsunami’ missileIn The Spotlight Russian president has boasted that there is no way to intercept the new weapon
-
Sudoku hard: November 11, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
