Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on "Morning Joe." MSNBC Joe Scarborough on Wednesday argued that President-elect Donald Trump is benefiting from low expectations.

During a "Morning Joe" panel, the MSNBC host implied that President Barack Obama disappointed many voters who had high expectations for his presidency.

"Obama came in as black Jesus," Scarborough said. "I don't want to come in as redneck Jesus if I'm a president of the United States. You want to come in like Ronald Reagan, where people underestimate you."

Scarborough also argued that left-leaning writers had "done Donald Trump a favor" by highlighting support for Trump from white supremacists, including a video that showed attendees of a conference in Washington, DC, giving Nazi salutes because of Trump's electoral victory.

"You all are fools. If you hate Donald Trump, and you want to destroy Donald Trump, you're doing it the wrong way," Scarborough said. "People that I respect — you keep tweeting about Nazis and this and that."

He added: "There were 200 freaks in a public building. I don't know why they were allowed in a public building. But you would think that Donald Trump is bringing the Third Reich to America. I've heard, 'He's a crypto-fascist, he's going to rip up the Constitution of the United States of America.'"

Despite his vehement criticism of Trump throughout much of the general election, the MSNBC host has recently praised many of Trump's political decisions while skewering Democrats and left-leaning writers for misunderstanding the electorate.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Scarborough was informally advising Trump. Scarborough was scrutinized for what critics saw as coziness with Trump during the GOP primary, before the "Morning Joe" hosts pushed back on some of Trump's proposals, including a plan to bar all Muslims from entering the US.

Many media outlets have highlighted the desire among some of Trump's supporters for authoritarian-style leadership.

Earlier this month, Trump appointed former Breitbart News head Steve Bannon as his chief White House strategist. Bannon has told Mother Jones his site is a "platform for the alt-right." His appointment was quickly praised by people on the white supremacist site Stormfront, former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and other alt-right and white nationalist groups.

For his part, Trump on Tuesday disavowed support from the alt-right.

"I condemn them. I disavow, and I condemn," Trump said during an interview with The New York Times. "I don't want to energize the group, and I disavow the group."