Latest news with #JoeScarborough
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Viewers outraged as Jake Tapper absolves Joe Scarborough of Biden health cover-up: 'Like they didn't know!'
CNN 's Jake Tapper gave a pass to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough for talking up Joe Biden 's mental fitness last year - telling the Morning Joe host that Biden focused specifically on convincing Scarborough he was fine. Tapper, who has been making the talk-show rounds to promote his new book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, joined Morning Joe on Wednesday and announced that Biden targeted Scarborough to persuade the host he was mentally sound. Tapper said that Biden was 'a frequent viewer of [Scarborough's] show' and that the president wanted to wipe any notion of his fading faculties from Scarborough's mind in 2023. 'Joe Biden said to staffers that he wanted to convince you that you were wrong, and he focused on you like you were a constituency,' Tapper said. 'Like you were farmers in Iowa, like you were the Kiwanis Clubs in New Hampshire. And he made sure that you thought differently.' During March 2024 episode of Morning Joe, Scarborough said Biden was 'better than he has ever been, intellectually, analytically.' 'F*** you if you can't handle the truth,' he continued. 'This version of Biden… is the best Biden ever.' Scroll down for full video: CNN's Jake Tapper gave a pass to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough for talking up Joe Biden's mental fitness last year - telling the Morning Joe host that Biden focused on convincing Scarborough he was fine Viewers of Wednesday's exchange were incensed, with many saying both Tapper and Scarborough have known the truth all along. 'Club chatting like they didn't know… they all knew!' wrote one X user. '"Journalism" right now is a bunch of ppl consoling each other that nothing is their fault,' another added. 'Jake Tapper's job isn't to relay information to the public, it's to help Joe Scarborough feel better about himself.' 'The left KNEW the lights were flickering in Joe's ballroom,' a third chimed in. 'They didn't care. They weren't about to let Donald Trump win. So the lying was cranked high.' During a separate interview with former ABC exec Mark Halperin Tuesday, Scarborough engaged in a fierce, three-minute defense of his March 2024 statement that Biden was 'far beyond cogent.' He insisted Biden had both 'good and bad days' and that Scarborough was only made privy to the former. The 'Morning Joe' host stuck with that story Wednesday. 'I said that this was Biden that is at his best - that's what I saw,' Scaborough said. Viewers were quick to accuse the hosts of being complicit in the alleged cover-up The exchange occurred after Biden's office on Sunday issued a statement revealing he has an 'advanced' form of prostate cancer that has already spread to his bones. Tapper's book came out on Tuesday, spurred a torrent of criticism. During a conversation with Megyn Kelly that same day, Tapper admitted legacy media failed on covering Biden - while conservative outlets, for more than a year, had it right. 'Knowing what I know now, obviously I feel tremendous humility about my coverage,' Tapper told Kelly, while also admitting that 'conservative media was correct' in how it handled the story. Biden's mental state was 'not covered sufficiently' by stations like CNN, he admitted, adding, 'conservative media was right.' 'There should be a lot of soul-searching not just among me but among the legacy media to begin with - all of us - for how this was covered or not covered sufficiently,' he said. 'I wish I could do differently.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Morning Joe shows he's as out of touch as ever as he starts pushing hard-left Dem loathed by middle America
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. Scroll down for full video: '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.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Joe Scarborough admits he was 'obviously wrong' about 'best Biden ever' comments
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough conceded on Wednesday that he was "obviously wrong" when he called former President Joe Biden the "best Biden ever" in March 2024. Scarborough explained during a conversation with CNN's Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on "Morning Joe" that he was in Ireland with Biden in 2023, noting the president had done several events and spoke to the MSNBC host for an interview. "He's doing well, he has a hero's reception in Ireland. I've told you about going in and talking to him for two and a half, three hours inside the White House, far beyond cogent. I mean really, really has a better, well, has a grasp of international politics in a way that only somebody who's been doing it since he was 29 years old," Scarborough said regarding the exchange. "We get phone calls at home where the guy is like pounding me because of op-eds that I wrote, etc., etc. So, I said that this was Biden at his best. That's what I saw. That's what other people saw, I was obviously wrong, so I'm not sure what my takeaway is here, the next time," the MSNBC host said. Scarborough was pressed on the clip of himself calling the former president the "best Biden ever" early in 2024 during a Tuesday conversation with journalist Mark Halperin on his show, "Next Up with Mark Halperin." The MSNBC host stood by his comments even as Halperin pressed him on whether he should have added a caveat of "except on the days when he's not the best Biden ever" to his remarks, as the pair discussed how the former president had good days and bad days in office. On "Morning Joe" in March 2024, Scarborough said of Biden, "I've said it for years now, he's cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent, he's far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he's better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he's been around for 50 years." "Start your tape right now because I'm about to tell you the truth. And f-you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever," the host added. Thompson and Tapper joined the MSNBC program on Wednesday to discuss their new book about Biden's mental acuity, during which Tapper told Scarborough that the former president made a point to convince the MSNBC host that he was fit to run for re-election. "And so again, am I going to look at a clip that's gone viral and pay more attention to that than two and a half, three hours I had with a guy one-on-one going around the world? No, I'm just not going to," Scarborough said in response to the revelation. "Are some of the clips bad? Yeah, they certainly are bad." However, he argued that Biden's missteps didn't get in the way of him governing. "Put into proper context, I'm just not going to freak out and melt down on one or two clips here and there," Scarborough said. "And again he bumbled around, and he stumbled around, but he has for quite some time. That didn't seem to me to get in the way of Joe Biden being able to analyze the most important issues."
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Tapper tells 'Morning Joe' hosts that Biden made targeted effort to convince Scarborough he was fit for office
CNN's Jake Tapper told MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday that former President Joe Biden made a targeted effort to sell the MSNBC host on his re-election campaign during a conversation on "Morning Joe." Tapper described Biden to Scarborough as "a frequent viewer of the show," and then referenced a 2023 Washington Post column by David Ignatius, where the columnist wrote that the former president should not run for re-election. "And then [Ignatius] came on this show and you guys had a robust conversation about this," Tapper said, noting the MSNBC host agreed at the time that there were concerns about the former president running for re-election but also that there were no alternatives. Tapper and Alex Thompson, an Axios reporter, joined "Morning Joe" to discuss their new book, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," which details the former president's decision to run again and the cover-up of his decline while in office. "Joe Biden saw that. Joe Biden said to staffers that he wanted to convince you that you were wrong, and he focused on you like you were a constituency, like you were farmers in Iowa, like you were the Kiwanis Clubs in New Hampshire. And he made sure that you thought differently," Tapper told Scarborough. Scarborough said he must have spoken to Biden on his "good days" as MSNBC's Willie Geist said that it was very possible Scarborough got to see the former president when he was well-rested and prepared. "It was a campaign though, for Joe, it was a campaign. The Biden people wanted to make sure that Joe [Scarborough] saw Biden at his best," Tapper added. Tapper asked the MSNBC host what time of day he saw Biden, and Scarborough said it was a lunch meeting. "There you go," Tapper responded. "Middle of the day." Scarborough was confronted with a viral clip of himself deeming the former president the "best Biden ever" on Tuesday, and ultimately stood by his comments during a conversation with Mark Halperin on his show, "Next Up with Mark Halperin." "I've said it for years now, he's cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent, he's far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he's better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he's been around for 50 years," Scarborough said during a March 2024 "Morning Joe" broadcast. "Start your tape right now because I'm about to tell you the truth. And f-you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever." Scarborough argued to Halperin, "He stumbled and bumbled around, Mark. I mean, yeah, he certainly did. Donald Trump did, other politicians did, and it's actually the same case as a lot of times when I've gone in and talked to Donald Trump." "Put into proper context, I'm just not going to freak out and melt down on one or two clips here and there," the "Morning Joe" host added. "And again he bumbled around, and he stumbled around, but he has for quite some time. That didn't seem to me to get in the way of Joe Biden being able to analyze the most important issues."
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Morning Joe left flustered after interviewer refuses to let him off the hook over Biden health cover-up
'Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough was forced to engage in a fierce, three-minute defense of his 2024 claim that then-President Joe Biden was at his 'best ever' after being confronted with it on a podcast Tuesday. The MSNBC star was pressed about the statement by Mark Halperin, as the world reacted to a new book alleging the ex-president's inner circle hid signs of his decline. Halperin, welcoming Scarborough to his show, first forced the host to watch the clip himself. It aired on Morning Joe in March 2024, when Scarborough was getting ready to host then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Before bringing her on, Scarborough engaged in a lengthy, fiery defense of Biden's age and fitness for office. 'He's better than he has ever been, intellectually, analytically,' Scarborough said in a rant before introducing the aide. 'F- you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden… is the best Biden ever.' Once the clip played out, Halperin, long the political director for ABC News, posed a pointed question to his guest. 'Looking back at that, do you say, well, it was misleading to say "best Biden ever" without caveating it and saying, except on the days when he's not?' he asked - after a stubborn Scarborough said Biden had both good and bad days. Scarborough, however, said he 'never saw the bad days personally,' before spinning the conversation toward Donald Trump. Scroll down for full video: The rant also saw the opinion host bizarrely argue the clip was taken out of context - the context being the entirety of his broadcasting career and the current news cycle. 'He stumbled and bumbled around, Mark,' Scarborough said of Biden, after listening to himself say he believed the then-unraveling incumbent was 'better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically' barely a year ago. 'I mean, yeah, he certainly did. 'Donald Trump did, other politicians did,' he added. 'And it's actually the same case as a lot of times when I've gone in and talked to Donald Trump.' The testy defense continued from there and saw Scarborough invoke the current president's name some seven times. 'We go on to Donald Trump, and I've heard the media narrative around Donald Trump, and certainly I've been very critical of Donald Trump,' Scarborough argued, as MSNBC prepares to split from NBC News and lead a new company of cable channels. 'And when I leave, I [will] have a better understanding... of where Donald Trump is mentally, if Donald Trump is losing it, like people have said through the years or not. 'And so, again, am I going to look at a clip that's gone viral and pay more attention to that than two and a half, three hours I had with a guy one-on-one going around the world?' he concluded. 'No, I'm just not going to. Are some of the clips bad? Yeah, they certainly are bad,' he added. 'Put into proper context, I'm just not going to freak out and melt down on one or two clips here and there. 'And again he bumbled around, and he stumbled around, but he has for quite some time. 'That didn't seem to me to get in the way of Joe Biden being able to analyze the most important issues.' When it came the former Florida congressman insistence he didn't see Biden's bad days firsthand, Halperin did not let him off the hook either. 'Well, you did! You did because you saw him address a dead congresswoman, and you saw him in South Carolina,' Halperin mentioned, referring to Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash two months before Biden mistakenly asked for her at an event in 2022. 'The dead congresswoman, yeah,' Scarborough conceded, before being grilled some more. 'Yeah, well, more than that, I mean, I can show you the RNC clip reels,' Halperin mentioned, referring to a series of viral flubs played to attendees of last year's conservative conference. There were plenty of days in public when he, when he was not the best Biden ever. And of course, shortly after-' Scarborough at this point interrupted. '[He] had good days — plural,' he said. Scarborough - aside from offering a 15-minute monologue to defend the then president's disastrous debate performance back in July - notably tore into former Special Counsel Robert Hur for a 2024 report on the former president related to the classified documents probe that showed Biden struggling with key memories. 'I'm just saying this guy says such random s**t!' Scarborough said at the time, demanding Hur apologize for the report, which revealed serious memory lapses from the then-president during a February 2024 interview surrounding his possession of classified documents. 'Does he hope he gets a judgeship? I think he does. I think he hopes he gets a judgeship if Donald Trump gets elected again because he's trying out, because he humiliated himself with that display,' Scarborough said. The audio of the Hur-Biden interview was released on Friday, and suggested Hur not only reported on since-substantiated concerns about Biden's mental acuity, he undersold the extent of it, progressive journalists like CNN's Abby Phillip have admitted. Jake Tapper, the author of the just released exposé Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, also admitted Tuesday to not fully reporting on Biden's senility when interviewing the former president in 202s amid speculation that swirled even then. 'Knowing what I know now, obviously I feel tremendous humility about my coverage,' Tapper told Megn Kelly on her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, while promoting the new book. He also admitted that 'conservative media was correct' in how it handled the story, two days after Biden was diagnosed with an advanced form of prostate cancer. He is currently exploring treatment options, his office said.
