'I’ll do my show the way I want!' Scarborough opens with meltdown over David Frum comments
Joe Scarborough — the former Republican congressman-turned MSNBC morning host — opened Thursday's episode of "Morning Joe" with an indignant 20-minute monologue.
According to Mediaite, Scarborough's rant was in response to an article in the Atlantic written by former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum, who was booted from Wednesday's show after a comment he made about Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth. Frum was asked to leave the show after commenting on an NBC News report in which Hegseth's current and former colleagues at Fox News recalled him frequently showing up on set complaining of hangovers and reeking of alcohol. Frum said: "If you're too drunk for Fox News, you're very, very drunk indeed."
As Frum recalled in his Atlantic essay, a producer warned Frum to not repeat his comments during a commercial break. Frum "said something noncommittal" in response, and "got another round of warning." He was eventually "excused from the studio chair," and Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski read an on-air apology for Frum's "flippant" comment about Hegseth.
READ MORE: 'Acted like the rules didn't apply': Hegseth's coworkers say he often showed up drunk on set
The former Bush White House speechwriter suggested in his essay that Scarborough and Brzezinski were "feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease" in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's threats of retribution. He also referenced their November visit to Mar-a-Lago in an attempt to "mend fences" with the incoming administration.
"I do not write to scold anyone; I write because fear is infectious. Let it spread, and it will paralyze us all," Frum wrote. "The only antidote is courage. And that’s infectious, too."
Scarborough didn't take kindly to Frum's essay, and vehemently denied that he and his spouse/co-host were acting out of "fear." He also defended he and Brzezinski's trip to Mar-a-Lago, which led to a plummet in viewership.
"Guess what? This is what’s been going on now for several weeks. We went down to talk to the president-elect. And people wrote articles that were just false. But you know what we did? We did the corporate thing. Corporate said, ‘don’t say anything. Just keep your head down.’ What did the royal say? 'Never explain, never complain. We did that,'" he said. "I always have Republicans say, ‘Oh, they’re telling you exactly what to say.’ No! Nobody’s once told me what to say here. Well actually, one person did one time. One leader did one time. I said ‘I’ll tell you what, if you think you can do such a damn good job, why don’t you come here and do the show four hours a day? I’m fine quitting. But I’m gonna do my show. I’ll do my show the way I want to do my show!"
READ MORE: 'Morning Joe' hosts condemn conservative' 'flippant' Hegseth critique after Trump Mar-a-Lago meeting
Click here to read Mediaite's coverage. You can watch Scarborough's monologue below, or by clicking this link.
