CNN Reports Scarborough, Brzezinski Met With Trump To Repair Relations

CNN: Morning Joe Hosts Met With Trump In September To “Rekindle” Relationship. CNN.com reported that Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to “rekindle a once-rosy relationship that has turned bitter and adversarial.” Prior to the meeting, reported CNN, Trump and the morning show hosts traded “barbs and insults” following the hosts’ “increasingly outspoken” criticism of Trump. From the September 19 article:

Last week, Scarborough and his “Morning Joe” co-host, Mika Brzezinski, visited the Republican presidential nominee at Trump Tower to rekindle a once-rosy relationship that has turned bitter and adversarial, sources with knowledge of the meeting told CNNMoney. The three also discussed the possibility of conducting an interview for “Morning Joe,” though nothing was decided or finalized, one of the sources said. Scarborough did not respond to a request for comment. The meeting, which NBC and the Trump campaign both declined to comment on, comes after a summer of barbs and insults. Trump has repeatedly slammed Scarborough and Brzezinski on Twitter and even spread a rumor that the two were romantically involved. Meanwhile, Scarborough and Brzezinski have been increasingly outspoken in their criticisms of Trump. Just three weeks ago, Scarborough released a song and music video he made in which he mocked Trump as “a soft and flaccid man” with “tiny little hands” and referred to him as “Amnesty Don,” a nickname he'd given Trump earlier. [CNN.com, 9/19/16]

Since Then, Scarborough And Brzezinski Have Repeatedly Praised And Defended Trump While Downplaying His Problems

Scarborough Denied Trump Had Doubled Down On Birtherism

Trump: Clinton “Started The Birther Controversy. I Finished It.” At a press event inside his newly constructed Washington, D.C., hotel, Trump falsely claimed that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential primary campaign “started the birther controversy” but that Trump “finished it.” From his September 16 press conference:

DONALD TRUMP: Now, not to mention her in the same breath but Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now, we all want to get back to making America strong and great again. Thank you, thank you very much. [Donald Trump press event, 9/16/16]

Scarborough: Trump Was “Not Doubling Down” On Birther Remarks. Scarborough dismissed Brzezinski’s criticism of Trump’s birther remarks, saying people would criticize Trump “even if” he “gave a heartfelt apology,” and that this is “not doubling down.” From the September 19 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: If he had wanted to put it to rest, if he had said, “The president was born in the United States. I am sorry. I am sorry for the pain I have caused. I am sorry I was wrong about this. It’s too bad it happened. I am very sorry. The president was, of course, born in the United States. We need to move on in a more peaceful fashion.” Do you think we’d be talking about it this morning, this way? [...] JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yes, we would still talk about it today. Because even if [Trump] gave a heartfelt apology, people would say, “Well, it's too late. You're a racist pig.” BRZEZINSKI: But it would move on. This is doubling down. SCARBOROUGH: No it would not, this is not doubling down. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 9/19/16]

Scarborough Defended Trump’s Call For Clinton’s Secret Service Detail To Disarm

Trump: Clinton’s Bodyguards Should Disarm And “See What Happens To Her.” At a September rally, Trump said of Clinton’s Secret Service detail, “take their guns away” and “see what happens to [Clinton],” according to USA Today. From the September 18 article:

Donald Trump said that Hillary Clinton's “bodyguards” should disarm themselves because Clinton supports gun control during a rally in Miami on Friday. He has made similar remarks in the past, but this time took it a little further. “Take their guns away,” Trump said. “She doesn't want guns. Let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away. It would be very dangerous.” Trump told the crowd of supporters that Clinton “wants to destroy your Second Amendment” and that “she goes around with armed bodyguards like you have never seen before.” [USA Today, 9/18/16]

Scarborough: “Who's Shocked And Stunned And Deeply Saddened About” What Trump Said? Scarborough downplayed Trump’s remarks about disarming Clinton’s Secret Service guards, asking, “Who's shocked and stunned and deeply saddened about this?” Scarborough denied Trump’s remarks were “careless” and claimed Trump’s statement wasn’t much different than “the conservative argument” about guns. From the September 19 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: So Mika, you and I were very, very critical of what Donald Trump said on the Second Amendment, “Second Amendment people.” Maybe they'll figure -- that crossed so many lines. Never heard anything like it. This is something that conservatives have been saying for some time. I just -- who's shocked and stunned and deeply saddened about this? We will have a discussion. MARK HALPERIN: He shouldn't speak that carelessly. SCARBOROUGH: What do you mean? HALPERIN: He shouldn't speak that carelessly. SCARBOROUGH: What was careless? HALPERIN: Those remarks are open to interpretation. SCARBOROUGH: What, wait, what part? Let's have a discussion. You're speaking in generalities. KATTY KAY: “Let's see what happens to her --” HALPERIN: “Let's see what happens to her if her Secret Service agents don't have guns?” SCARBOROUGH: OK, but your Secret Service agents are always going to have guns. KAY: Right, but the implication of what he’s saying is let's disarm those around her so she is vulnerable and therefore let's see what happens to her. If she was in a position where she was not protected by guns. SCARBOROUGH: But see, that's the thing. She's always going to be protected by guns. And this argument, by the way, that somebody like Hillary Clinton, and this is the conservative argument. Hillary Clinton has had people around her with guns wherever she went since 1978. Since 1978. And for her to say somebody that wants to protect their family with a certain kind of gun shouldn't have that gun and she's been against handguns as well, or her husband certainly was talking about a handgun ban back in the 1990s, seems to conservatives, to be the same as environmental activists screaming at Americans for driving a pickup truck while they're flying around the country in a Hawk or 800 XL. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 9/19/16]

Scarborough Downplayed Criticism Of Trump’s First (And Widely Panned) Debate Performance

Journalists, Conservative Media Figures, And Conservative Lawmakers Alike Criticized Donald Trump’s Disastrous Performance In First Debate. Journalists and commentators from across the political spectrum slammed Trump for his lack of preparation and inability to execute a clear debate strategy. Focus groups of undecided voters conducted by CNN and by conservative pollster Frank Luntz agreed that Clinton trounced Trump on the stage, and a national poll fielded by CNN showed that debate viewers came away thinking Trump had lost “overwhelmingly.” Trump was even needled by reporters for revealing “his famously thin skin” and for failing to control his impulses and “los[ing] the battle against himself.” Prominent right-wing media figures called Trump’s performance “an unmitigated disaster” and argued that he “didn’t stand up to the test” of being President of the United States, while numerous GOP lawmakers also said Trump was “ill-prepared” for the debate. [Media Matters, 9/27/16, 9/27/16; The Hill, 9/27/16]

Scarborough Hyped Drudge Report Poll Claiming Trump Won Debate Right After Mocking It. Scarborough noted that Trump won the Drudge Report’s poll easily, and despite quoting someone comparing it to “‘the presidential election results in Saddam Hussein's Iraq,’” said, “The fact that you have 80 percent of the people revved up enough to go to those polls suggests something about the level of intensity” for Trump. From the September 27 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Anybody that knows Donald Trump knows that Donald Trump knows that he won the debate and will be quoting Drudge [Report] and every other online poll that you can judge. There were a couple of other snap polls. CNN found that actually scientific study found that Hillary Clinton absolutely ran away with the debate, 62 percent to 27 percent. Donald Trump won't be sharing that poll, he will be sharing the Drudge Report's online poll, which showed 80 percent said he won the debate. But as Daily Caller's Jamie Weinstein tweeted, “The Drudge poll on the debate looks like the presidential election results in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.” I don't know that I would say that, Mark Halperin. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I don't know if I would say that either . SCARBOROUGH: But there always was this dichotomy. The fact that you have 80 percent of the people revved up enough to go to those polls suggests something about the level of intensity, as well. I mean, throughout the primaries, Time would have one of the online polls as well. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 9/27/16]

Scarborough: By “Past Debate Standards,” Clinton Won, “But You Don't Judge Donald Trump By Those Standards.” Joe Scarborough claimed that if “you judge this by all past debate standards, Hillary Clinton won,” but he added that “you don't judge Donald Trump by those standards.” From the September 27 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: All right, so, Kellyanne, everybody's talking about, as we've said before, you judge this by all past debate standards, Hillary Clinton won. Most of us around the table believe that. But you don't judge Donald Trump by those standards. Do you think he connected with his base? Do you think he found new voters last night? [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 9/27/16]

Hosts Downplayed Criticism Of Trump Claiming Veterans With PTSD Aren’t “Strong”

Trump Suggested Veterans With PTSD “Can’t Handle” It And Are “Not Strong.” Politico reported that Trump suggested that veterans with PTSD “are not strong because they ‘can’t handle’ the ‘horror stories’ they’ve seen in combat” while participating in a Q-and-A session with veterans. From an October 3 Politico article:

Donald Trump on Monday seemed to imply that military veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder are not strong because they “can’t handle” the “horror stories” they’ve seen in combat. Trump delivered a brief address to veterans in Herndon, Virginia, before participating in a Q-and-A session, during which the Republican presidential nominee was asked whether he would “support and fund a more holistic approach to solve the problems and issues of veteran suicide, PTSD, [traumatic brain injuries] and other” mental and behavioral health issues facing veterans, as well as if he would “take steps to restore the historic role of our chaplains and the importance of spiritual fitness and spiritual resiliency programs.” Trump responded in the affirmative, adding that the U.S. needs that “so badly.”

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat — and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it,” Trump said. “And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie. Nobody would believe it.” [Politico, 10/3/16]

Brzezinski And Scarborough Claimed Trump “Misspoke.” Both Scarborough and Brzezinski claimed Trump “misspoke” when talking about PTSD, with Brzezinski saying, “We don't need to work that hard to find things that he said that are outlandish. And this is working too hard,” while also dismissing the interpreted intention of his comments because “it was word salad.” From the October 4 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I love Joe Biden and I get his point, and Trump sort of misspoke a little bit, but his point was that there’s a lot of people that need help and I think it is taken out of context. LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: I think he doesn't have the vaguest idea, as usual, of what he is talking about. Because he said -- BRZEZINSKI: I know. It was word salad. O’DONNELL: -- people in this room, he referred to people in this room as being strong. So he believes if you can tie a necktie and sit in a room with me, you do not have PTSD. BRZEZINSKI: No. JOE SCARBOROUGH: I don’t think that’s what he said. BRZEZINSKI: This is the overcorrection that worries me a lot about. SCARBOROUGH: He did say, “We’re losing great people, we need health care for great people.” I think he misspoke. I think also he did what politicians sort of do to -- BRZEZINSKI: We don't need to work that hard to find things that he said that are outlandish. And this is working too hard. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/4/16]

Scarborough Implied NY Attorney General’s Demand That Trump’s Charity Stop Raising Money Because It Violated Law Is Political

New York Attorney General Orders Trump Foundation To Stop Fundraising Due To Violating State Law. New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, sent a letter to Trump’s charitable foundation, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, ordering it to “stop soliciting charitable donations in the state” because it “had been fund-raising in New York this year when it was not registered to do so under state law,” according to The New York Times. The article followed a report from The Washington Post that found “the foundation did not have the certification necessary to solicit money in New York.” From the October 3 Times article:

The office of the New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, has issued a “notice of violation” to Donald J. Trump’s foundation, ordering it to immediately stop soliciting charitable donations in the state. The letter, which was sent on Friday and released on Monday morning by Mr. Schneiderman’s office, said its charities bureau had determined that the Donald J. Trump Foundation had been fund-raising in New York this year when it was not registered to do so under state law. “The Trump Foundation must immediately cease soliciting contributions or engaging in any other fund-raising activities in New York,” wrote James Sheehan, the chief of the charities bureau. Mr. Trump’s foundation has come under increasing scrutiny amid questions about his fulfillment of large charitable pledges and his lack of financial support in recent years. The foundation’s compliance with the rules that govern nonprofit groups has also been a concern. The New York Times reported last month that Mr. Trump’s foundation does not show up on the charity registers in many states, and The Washington Post subsequently reported that the foundation did not have the certification necessary to solicit money in New York. [The New York Times, 10/3/16]

Scarborough: “If [The Trump Foundation Is] So Bad, Why Did You Wait A Month Before The Presidential Election To Drop This?” Scarborough questioned why Schneiderman waited until “a month before the election” to investigate the Trump Foundation, and mockingly said, “I'm sure that the foundation is just the worst foundation that's ever been set up, other than the Clinton Foundation.” From the October 4 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: [Eric] Schneiderman, who recently opened an inquiry into the foundation, is a Democrat supporting Hillary Clinton for president. JOE SCARBOROUGH: You said really down the middle, Mika. I mean a month before the election -- BRZEZINSKI: I know. I know. But I mean, he's obviously -- SCARBOROUGH: It's fine. We're not saying that -- I'm sure that the foundation is just the worst foundation that's ever been set up, other than the Clinton Foundation. I mean, I don't know how to compare the two, but I just -- if it's so bad, why did you wait a month before the presidential election to drop this? MIKE BARNICLE: Well if it's been so bad and so public and people have been talking about it for months, why take so long to drop it now? Why didn’t you do it in June or July? SCARBOROUGH: Sleeping on the job. Kind of sad. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/4/16]

Hosts Downplayed Trump Taking A Nearly $1 Billion Loss On His Tax Returns

NY Times: Trump May Have Used Rules To Avoid Paying Taxes For Nearly 20 Years After Declaring Nearly $1 Billion Loss In 1995. According to tax documents obtained by The New York Times, after declaring “a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns,” Trump may have “legally avoid[ed] paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.” Utilizing “tax rules especially advantageous to wealthy filers,” wrote the Times, Trump could have used the massive “financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s” to “cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18-year period.” From the October 1 Times article:

Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show. The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, derived from the financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Tax experts hired by The Times to analyze Mr. Trump’s 1995 records said that tax rules especially advantageous to wealthy filers would have allowed Mr. Trump to use his $916 million loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18-year period. Although Mr. Trump’s taxable income in subsequent years is as yet unknown, a $916 million loss in 1995 would have been large enough to wipe out more than $50 million a year in taxable income over 18 years. The $916 million loss certainly could have eliminated any federal income taxes Mr. Trump otherwise would have owed on the $50,000 to $100,000 he was paid for each episode of “The Apprentice,” or the roughly $45 million he was paid between 1995 and 2009 when he was chairman or chief executive of the publicly traded company he created to assume ownership of his troubled Atlantic City casinos. Ordinary investors in the new company, meanwhile, saw the value of their shares plunge to 17 cents from $35.50, while scores of contractors went unpaid for work on Mr. Trump’s casinos and casino bondholders received pennies on the dollar. [The New York Times, 10/1/16]

Trump Claimed He “Brilliantly” Exploited The Tax Code. According to The Washington Post, Trump responded to the Times report by claiming “he ‘brilliantly used’ tax laws to his advantage and bounced back from the loss while others in his field fell flat in the 1990s.” From an October 3 article:

At an afternoon rally later here in Colorado, the GOP presidential nominee responded to a New York Times report this weekend on his 1995 tax return showing a $916 million loss that would have allowed him to pay zero federal income taxes for 18 years. Trump said he “brilliantly used” tax laws to his advantage and bounced back from the loss while others in his field fell flat in the 1990s. Trump said he has a “fiduciary responsibility” to “pay as little tax as legally possible” — although these were his personal taxes — and that the political class should be blamed for creating a “complex” and “unfair” tax system. [The Washington Post, 10/3/16]

Brzezinski: Trump Was “Brilliant” For Bragging About How He Exploited The Tax Code” Brzezinski dismissed the Times report, saying, “Unless laws were broken, it's not an issue,” and lauded Trump’s “brilliant” response to the report, saying, “He just went there, while [Clinton] has been hiding this speech money, hiding this foundation stuff, hiding this email stuff, and trying to get around it, mistakes were made.” Brzezinski argued that those issues with Clinton “cancel” out what Trump did. From the October 4 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): So I've just noticed a confidence here that I don't think should be there among the [Hillary Clinton] campaign, I'm sorry. But I mean, you think about this tax thing and were laws broken and did The New York Times find any laws were broken? Were any laws broken? MARK HALPERIN: No. BRZEZINSKI: OK so [Donald Trump] talks about brilliantly using this system, great. Hillary Clinton could have had that same reaction to her speech money, that she says she's going to change Wall Street, but you know what, I used the system to make millions of dollars. But instead she hides it. Donald Trump just doesn't hide it. He's very comfortable with the fact that he followed the law and made a lot of money. She also followed the law and made a lot of money and for some reason it's OK to look at that speech money and somehow we just let it go because she's -- her campaign keeps it kind of under -- it's the same thing and that's what people see. People see somebody being honest about it and somebody kind of like, not mentioning it but still doing it. What's the difference? Does anybody want to explain to me, because I think voters like what they saw from Donald Trump and I'm very worried about that. [...] JOE SCARBOROUGH (CO-HOST): This tax thing, I'm sorry, this tax thing, please, find me one person that pays more taxes than they have to pay. You can't do it. So everybody that's acting so shocked that he did what he was legally entitled to do is a freaking hypocrite. BRZEZINSKI: And the media -- SCARBOROUGH: That's why Warren Buffett goes, “Oh, rich people need to pay.” Well, pay more money, Warren Buffett. [...] BRZEZINSKI: I think the reaction to this New York Times story on Donald Trump's part was brilliant, and the thing is he didn't even think twice about it, he just went there, while she has been hiding this speech money, hiding this foundation stuff, hiding this email stuff, and trying to get around it, mistakes were made. And I'm telling you people don't, they are not feeling a complete connection with her and this didn't help to get all high and mighty. Get off your high horse about this tax thing. Unless laws were broken, it's not an issue. You guys cancel each other out. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/4/16]

Hosts Hyped Trump’s Second Debate Performance

Post-Debate Polls Showed Clinton Winning Second Debate. Two polls taken after the second presidential debate showed Clinton winning, with CNN’s post-debate poll showing Clinton winning 57 to 34 percent, while YouGov’s poll showed that Clinton won 47 to 42 percent. [Politico, 10/10/16; YouGov, 10/9/16]

Scarborough: Trump “Dominated” The Second Debate. Not mentioning either post-debate poll showing Clinton winning, Scarborough claimed Trump “dominated the second debate” and that “Clinton was on the defensive most of the night.” Brzezinski added that it was “vintage Trump” and praised the fact that he “produced a day-long show that rocked the political world.” From the October 10 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: I think despite what you think of Donald Trump, what you think of Hillary Clinton, what you think of how this race has gone over the weekend and where you think it's going to end up, whether you think last night made any difference at all to the final outcome in November. I think there are a couple of things that people in the press may not want to admit, but it was plainly evident watching it on TV last night. Number one, it was Donald Trump's most effective debate performance to date. There's not a close second. Just not a close second. Secondly, despite the fact she had an unprecedented cheering section in the media, the fact is for somebody watching and people will see this if they go back and watch it again today or if they see parts of it a week from now or a month from now, Hillary Clinton was on the defensive most of the night. She seemed unsure of herself most of the night and he dominated the second debate in the same way she dominated the first debate. And third, and I think most importantly for this political season, Donald Trump, who has made the Republican Party members lives living and breathing hells for the past year and a half, last night turned it up to 11. And all of those people that jumped ship about halfway through the debate were looking at their TV saying oh shoot. Because -- and again I know everybody in the press hates Donald Trump. I'm giving you reality if you don't like it. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: What he said was horrible. SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, yeah, he's horrible, blah, blah, blah. Listen, I heard it, I heard it last night. I saw it on Twitter. I understand. You believe he's an evil man. I'm just giving you the political reality and this is the political reality. That for the Republican base, Donald Trump delivered the attack against the Clinton machine that the Republican base and middle America have been waiting for, for years now. And so good luck being in Pensacola, Florida saying “Hey I'm off of Donald Trump” or saying in Kansas “Oh, I'm not for Donald Trump anymore” especially when no Republican in America should have been surprised by what they heard on Friday. BRZEZINSKI: And no Republican in America could have done what he did last night. They just -- my god. It was epic. It was vintage Trump. He produced a day-long show that rocked the political world. Take a look at some of the moments. SCARBOROUGH: With his back against the wall. [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/10/16]

Hosts Downplayed Trump’s Overall Polling Struggles

Scarborough Claimed NBC Poll Having Clinton With Large Lead Is “Cooked.” Joe Scarborough claimed that a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showing Clinton with a double-digit lead “could not have been cooked more to get the result they got,” additionally arguing that the poll had “very strange timing.” From the October 11 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: So last week we were saying why didn't anybody take polls after debates, right? MIKA BRZEZINSKI: They didn't. SCARBOROUGH: And they didn't for a long time. So this NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, we work here and we love working here, we love this place. They take the poll the second the crisis starts. BRZEZINSKI: But there's a debate scheduled. SCARBOROUGH: And stop it right before the debate. It could not have been cooked more to get the result they got. BRZEZINSKI: I don't think it was cooked. SCARBOROUGH: No, no, I'm just saying -- BRZEZINSKI: I think no one was thinking. SCARBOROUGH: You cook it by the point you put it. It's just ridiculous to say, “We're going to put this at the height of the scandal.” And so they get a 14-point lead. What do you expect? BRZEZINSKI: But there's a debate scheduled. Wouldn’t you wait until after -- SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, wouldn't you do it after the debate? [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/11/16]

Scarborough: “35 Percent For A Man Who Was Dead On Friday Is Not A Bad Place To Start.” Discussing the NBC poll, Scarborough claimed that “35 percent for a man who was dead on Friday is not a bad place to start” because “he would not have survived until Monday if he had not changed the dynamic,” adding that Trump has “fought to live another day.” From the October 11 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe: