Morning Joe hosts' absence from show allegedly due to Trump merger

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Morning Joe stars Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough's absence from their hit show this summer hints at a secret war with MSNBC bosses over Donald Trump and upcoming merger, it is claimed. More than one third of the episodes broadcast since Memorial Day have been missing one of the husband-and-wife hosts.
Mediaite writer Colby Hall has multiple theories as to what is going on. He speculated that the power couple's absence may be icy cold revenge for MSNBC taking their show off the air in the wake of a July 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Hall said the decision - taken to try and avoid a huge gaffe by the anti-MAGA pair after the president was almost killed - may have 'widened' an existing rift between them and MSNBC bossts.
Brezezinski and Scarborough may also be exploiting their power to 'leverage their stature within the network,' Hall believes, while also conceding the three hour daily show is likely tiring. 'But it's hard to ignore the timing,' Hall added 'With MSNBC's realignment on the horizon and talent contracts under review, Joe and Mika's extended absences feel like a flex - a reminder that Morning Joe doesn't work without them,' Hall stated.
MSNBC is currently preparing to split from NBCUniversal to become part of an entirely new company, Versant, made up of other Comcast channels. The piece also pointed out pair have been missing many shows despite the pace of political news coming out of Washington, DC .
Of the 49 Morning Joe episodes that have aired since May 26, Brzezinski has been away for 26 while Scarborough has been absent for 18. 'Most of their peers, Rachel Maddow aside, still show up five days a week,' Mediaite reported. 'Joe and Mika may be relaxing poolside, and fair enough,' the report concludes.
'But their absence sends a message. The only question now is whether MSNBC is listening - and how they plan to respond.' Hall said the Morning Joe stand-ins have failed to deliver 'fire-and-ice dynamic' that their viewers enjoy. Moreover, 'their absence sends a message,' Hall wrote at a point.
'When stars act like they own the show, it's often because they do - and they know it,' he said. He added how 'it's hard to ignore the timing' of the two's absence given MSNBC currently being in the process of weighing contracts - and their worth - for MSNBC's realignment.
Morning Joe was first broadcast in 2007 and quickly became a hit with MSNBC viewers. Brzezinski, a liberal, and conservative Scarborough became vocally anti-Trump during the president's first term in office.