Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | TV | July 16, 2024
Following the shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania, MSNBC made the cowardly call to kneecap its programming and did not air an episode of Morning Joe as the media self-censored itself into a panic over “divisive” rhetoric. Never mind the fact that the shooting was a tale as old as time: A disturbed young man easily got a hold of a high-powered rifle and fired it at people. But we’re not allowed to point that out, or Republican opposition to gun control, because we have to “lower the temperature” or whatever.
After returning to the air for Tuesday’s episode, Joe Scarborough slammed MSNBC for the move that the network didn’t even stick to as it pivoted back to normal coverage by Monday afternoon.
“We were told in no uncertain terms on Sunday night that there was going to be one news feed against all channels,” Scarborough said via The Wrap. “I guess after there was such strong blowback about what happened yesterday morning that they changed their plans.”
“Next time we’re told there’s going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs,” Scarborough added before issuing a warning to MSNBC. “And the news feed will be us or they can get somebody else to host this show.”
Mika Brzezinski was a little less fiery, but pushed back on the decision to kneecap the show.
”[Morning Joe is] the place where you could go to have the hard conversations in a civil way,” she said via TVLine. “So it seemed like now, more than ever, is a day, a time, that we would like to be on. And I think our viewers agree with that, so we continue.”
Obviously, the assassination attempt on Trump was a huge freaking deal. Emphasis on was. If you’ve been following this story even casually, it went from doomsaying proclamations of “Welp, he just won the election” to “Meh” before Sunday brunch. Again, I’m not saying this wasn’t a serious issue, but we’re dealing with a guy where eight million serious issues slough off him every single hour on the hour. For once, being the “Teflon Don” backfired because now nothing sticks to Trump. Good or bad.
I mean, Christ, the guy showed up to the RNC with an oversized bandage on his ear, and the dominating discourse is “So he’s going to be real weird about trying to convince everyone it was a bullet and not glass” with a sprinkle of “J.D. Vance? Lol, good luck with that.” That’s the problem with flooding the zone with bullsh**: You’re just as at risk of drowning in it, too.
