On Monday, MSNBC pulled "Morning Joe” off the air. Sources told CNN that the network pulled the broadcast to "avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”
In other words, MSNBC didn’t trust the “Morning Joe” team to be adults.
An MSNBC spokesperson later denied what sources had told CNN.
“Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening,” the spokesperson said. “As we continue to cover this story into the week, the networks will continue to cross simulcast, alternating between NBC News, NBC News NOW, and ‘MSNBC Reports’, so there is one news feed covering this developing situation.”
However, there was no simulcast. The only show MSNBC pulled was “Morning Joe.” That was no mistake. Of course, that was likely a smart decision, though it leaves me wondering why the network didn’t just get rid of all of its on-air talent for the day and just broadcast reruns of "Saved by the Bell." It probably would have given MSNBC a boost in viewership.
To further show just how significant the decision to pull “Morning Joe” was, even ABC’s “The View” aired as scheduled.
As my PJ Media colleague Stephen Green noted, “Morning Joe” is "reportedly Presidentish Joe Biden's favorite morning show, but he'll have to wait until at least Tuesday to get his daily fix."
Tuesday's return of “Morning Joe” didn’t disappoint. In fact, Scarborough had a small hissy fit about the network's decision to take his show off the air.
"We were told, in no uncertain terms, on Sunday evening, that there was going to be one news feed across all NBC News channels yesterday," Scarborough said Tuesday. "That was going to be one news feed across all NBC News channels. That we were going to stay as a network in breaking news mode throughout all day yesterday. That did not happen."
"We don’t know why that didn’t happen,” he added. "Our team was not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen, but it didn’t happen."
"We were very surprised," Scarborough continued. "We were very disappointed. And if we had known that there wasn’t going to be the one news feed from NBC News across all NBC News channels, Willie [Geist], we obviously would have been in yesterday morning."
Scarborough then threatened to quit if the network ever pulled him off the air again. When his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski attempted to change the topic, Scarborough cut her off and said, “Let me just say, next time we’re told there’s going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs,” Scarborough warned. “The news feed will be us, or they can get somebody else to host the show.”
WATCH: Joe Scarborough claims MSNBC lied to him when the network pulled Morning Joe off the air on Monday.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 16, 2024
CNN reported “the show was pulled to prevent one of its dozens of guests from making an inappropriate comment while live that could paint the show and network in a bad… pic.twitter.com/d2Lu1i1huX
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