Morning Joe shows he's as out of touch as ever as he starts pushing hard-left Dem loathed by middle America

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

Morning Joe namesake Joe Scarborough touted progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a possible 2028 presidential candidate Wednesday - and called Democrats who oppose her 'insane.'
The former Florida Republican-turned-talking head made the remarks on his MSNBC show after former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas brought up the in-fighting plaguing the Democratic Party.
'They're afraid to have the person who is considered in polls to be the voice and the face of the Democratic Party,' Scarborough said.
It came after Giridharadas warned the Dems have, 'abdicated any role in participating in [the] cultural process... Donald Trump - for all of his profound, personal and cerebral limitations - is a culture maker and a player in the culture.'
In contrast, the Democratic Party 'stands at the end of the pipeline saying... please vote, [while] ignoring 90 percent of where politics happens,' he added.
This paved the way for the surprising, supposed solution from Scarborough in AOC: a self-professed Democratic socialist who has made 'taxing the rich' a cornerstone of her political profile.
Those who have floated Ocasio-Cortez as the answer to the party's pressing questions have been met with pushback from even progressives - due to her far-left views at a time where the party is already divided.
Scarborough said such concerns about the party are unfounded - and merely the result of Ocasio-Cortez being a fresh, young face.
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'We're going to throw those bums out, and fight for the nation we deserve,' the 35-year-old, now being floated as a possible presidential candidate, said, as she continues to criticize the leadership being seen from her party
Her party, meanwhile, has been struggling in the wake of Kamala Harris's election loss - a situation more recently marred by claims that members of then President Biden's inner circle hid his cognitive decline.
'I don't think anybody that watches the show would confuse my politics with AOC's politics,' Scarborough - who ran as a Republican to win a seat in the US House of Representatives for Florida's conservative 1st district in 1994 - prefaced.
'And yet I sit here, fairly conservative, independent, absolutely flummoxed by a Democratic Party that refuses to let her in leadership,' he continued.
'The fact is, that they're afraid to have the person who is considered in polls to be the voice and the face of the Democratic Party.
'She does a better job getting out there and explaining the inequities that drive working Americans to Republicans.
'She also, to her credit, she went and she talked to people who voted for Donald Trump and voted for her and didn't go, "what's wrong with your head?"
Instead, Scarborough said the former bartender looks to find the root of such divisions.
'And by the way, she's under 80,' Scarborough joked, allowing a beat for laughs. 'I don't know if you knew that or not. She's under 80.'
Other possible faces like to surface in 2028's primary include Pete Buttigieg, who recently appeared on the MAGA-alligned Flagrant Podcast. Bernie Sanders, who has said he is not running but it still a high-ranking Democrat, appeared on the same show a few days later
He ended by posing a question he was not really seeking the answer for to his panel, which included his wife Mika Brzezinski, Giridharadas, Willie Geist, and Jonathan Lemire.
'You're telling me that the Democratic Party does not have a place for her in leadership? Do you know how insane that is?'
Scarborough went on to cite the opinion of MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon, despite being a well-known Trump dissident.
'Bannon says of AOC, that she's, first of all, she's a very Talented political athlete,' Lemire said after some urging from Scarborough.
Just before, Scarborough pointed out how several Americans who voted for Bernie Sanders - another far-left figure who has said he is not running this time around - voted for Trump in this year's election.
Other possible faces like to surface in 2028's primary include Pete Buttigieg and Gavin Newsom, both of whom are more moderate in comparison.
The pair are still devout progressives, and have both ramped up their podcast appearances as of late after Harris fell flat in certain states and demographics.
Scarborough suggested such a field creates the perfect climate for Ocasio-Cortez to steal votes from across the aisle following last year's failure.
He said her message - one that preaches addressing economic inequality - would hit home with some of the working-class Trump base.
Meanwhile, another possible candidate comes in the form of veteran senator Chuck Schumer.
He's recently lost a swathe of support by bowing to Republicans and passing a conservative-backed funding measure earlier this year.
A poll from liberal nonprofit Data For Progress showed Ocasio-Cortez leading Schumer by almost 20 points in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the 2028 New York Senate primary as a result.
Other polls show Ocasio-Cortez performing well in hypothetical primaries, following rallies with fellow populist progressive Sanders that have pulled in tens of thousands of attendees.
Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, said last week that Ocasio-Cortez's 'message of economic populism is more powerful than people are giving her credit for.'
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said more of the same - recently saying she's on the rise and could be the next party leader very soon.
But Patricia Crouse, a political scientist in residence at the University of New Haven, told Newsweek that Ocasio-Cortez may very well be respected by fellow politicians, but that she lacks the broad appeal required to capture middle America.
'I think people see her as the face of the Democratic Party right now because she seems to be the only one (along with Sanders) willing to stand up for the party and stand against Trump,' Crouse said.