Samantha Bee Defends MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and 'Morning Joe'

Mika Brzezinski appeared on today’s The Daily Beast podcast with Samantha Bee to discuss her and Joe Scarborough’s recent meeting with Donald Trump. Brzezinski largely reiterated the same talking point she’s delivered throughout the week: “Why wouldn’t I?” She frames the meeting as part of her journalistic duty to interview significant political figures when the opportunity arises.

After the interview, Samantha Bee defended Brzezinski. “I really disagree with people who take the position that they are normalizing Trump … that happened long ago. When he first hit the scene, I believed it was a terrible idea to normalize him. I was very strong on that issue. But despite my best efforts, it happened anyway. He became a beloved figure — a god — like figure to many. So, there is no normalizing now. What he is, is very normal to people. They love it, they admire it, they gave him control of the House, the Senate, the Presidency, and even the popular vote. That’s all done. That part is over.”

Bee went on to interpret Brzezinski’s meeting with Trump as an attempt to influence him. “She’s saying, like, if I can get him to move one inch to the left on issues I care about, I’m going to take every opportunity to make that happen. I don’t think they’re over there eating french fries. I think they’re working, and trying, and saying things like, ‘Matt Gaetz is a bad choice*. Tulsi Gabbard is a bad choice. Please listen to us.’ And I think that’s really all we can do right now.”

(*Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination today.)

I agree with Bee that the battle over “normalizing” Trump is long over. It ended years ago. I’m also over the outrage of “How dare you platform so-and-so,” because that person will be platformed somewhere regardless. Frankly, I’d rather see a confrontational interview between Jon Stewart and Jordan Peterson than Peterson casually spreading unchecked misinformation on Joe Rogan.

But this isn’t about platforming or normalizing Trump. I have no issue with figures like Kaitlan Collins, Abby Phillip, or The Daily interviewing Trump, provided they offer pushback. That’s far preferable to journalists simply reporting on what he says on Fox News, where no pushback occurs.

This, however, is not that. Collins, Phillip, and The Daily haven’t spent the last eight years profiting from anti-Trump outrage. They’re not the faces of a network’s “resistance” movement. What Scarborough and Brzezinski did wasn’t “journalism,” no matter how many times Brzezinski tries to frame it as “on background.” As numerous outlets have reported, this was an effort to mitigate Trump’s hostility toward them and their staff, ensuring he doesn’t spend the next four years harassing them.

If Brzezinski had admitted that, I might have been more sympathetic.

But she didn’t. And “journalism,” despite Samantha Bee’s interpretation, doesn’t involve sitting with an incoming president to advise him against selecting Matt Gaetz or Tulsi Gabbard. That’s not what reporters do. Journalists ask tough questions and aim to extract truths; they don’t advise their subjects.

Calling this meeting “journalism” is absurd. Scarborough and Brzezinski are essentially opinion writers with microphones. Until recently, their opinion was that Trump is a uniquely dangerous threat to democracy and the American people. While journalists can and should interview authoritarians, it’s not the job of opinion personalities to soften an authoritarian’s edges in hopes of escaping his wrath. This wasn’t about interviewing the president; it was about self-preservation.