‘It is alarming that this President is so easily played’

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said on Friday President Donald Trump lied about their December encounter in a tweet and that his “unhealthy obsession” with their programme doesn’t serve his mental health or the country well.

The two MSNBC personalities postponed a vacation in order to respond to Mr. Trump’s tweet, in which he called Ms. Brzezinski “crazy” and said she was “bleeding badly from a face—lift” when he saw them at his Florida estate.

“It’s been fascinating and frightening and really sad for our country,” Ms. Brzezinski said on their programme.

“We’re OK,” said Mr. Scarborough, her co-host and fiance. “The country’s not.”

The hosts, who also co-bylined a column that was posted on The Washington Post’s website on Friday, said they had known Mr. Trump for more than a decade and have “fond memories” of their relationship, but that he’s changed in the past two years. They were at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida shortly before the New Year in December to encourage Mr. Trump to give them an interview.

Ms. Brzezinski, who said she’s alarmed at how the President deals with women who disagree with him, said she believed her teasing about a Post story about fake Time magazine covers with Mr. Trump’s face hanging at his golf facilities is what precipitated the Twitter attack.

“It is unbelievably alarming that this President is so easily played, he is easily played by a cable news host,” she said. “What does that say to our allies? What does that say to our enemies?”

No face-lift

They said Mr. Trump was lying about Ms. Brzezinski having a face-lift, although “she did have a little skin under her chin tweaked.”

Their programme and Mr. Trump have had a tortured relationship. They were criticised by some for being too close to Mr. Trump during the campaign and giving his candidacy an early boost, but have turned sharply against him. Ms. Brzezinski in recent weeks has wondered whether Mr. Trump was mentally ill.

Trump on Thursday had launched a crude Twitter attack on the brains, looks and temperament of Ms. Brzezinski, drawing bipartisan howls of outrage.