On “Morning Joe,” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski navigated an awkward moment as they joked about the recent reports regarding the potential sale of MSNBC. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Comcast is gearing up to spin off its portfolio of NBCUniversal cable channels, including the very network that employs them—MSNBC.
The report indicates that Comcast is set to announce this Wednesday its plan to separate its NBCUniversal cable networks, recognizing that it may be better off without what was once considered a crown jewel. The spin-off will include popular channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and the Golf Channel, which collectively brought in about $7 billion in revenue in the past year, as detailed by WSJ’s Amol Sharma.
After Mika delivered the news, Joe tried to inject some humor into the conversation by referencing Mika’s penthouse. “I’ll say this quickly; Drudge had the headline ‘News melts down!’” he joked. “I could be completely wrong: we could all be fired a year from now. You just never know what’s going to happen.”
Mika added, “Or tomorrow,” forcing a laugh that betrayed her discomfort with the precarious situation facing their show.
In a related twist, President-elect Donald Trump shed light on his recent 90-minute post-election meeting with the “Morning Joe” co-hosts, following his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris. The meeting was described as an effort to rekindle a relationship that had grown icy over the past seven years.
“On Friday, we had the opportunity to meet with Trump and voice our concerns about some of his appointments,” Mika shared. “It was the first time we’ve seen him in seven years.”
Joe mentioned that their conversation spanned various topics, including abortion and the threats of political retribution, subtly referencing concerns raised by colleagues like Rachel Maddow, who has expressed fears about Trump’s potential actions against journalists.
Despite their differing viewpoints, Mika highlighted the need to reestablish communication. “We hadn’t been in touch with Trump since March 2016, except for a personal call Joe made after an assassination attempt on him,” she noted. “During this meeting, he was cheerful and seemed genuinely interested in finding common ground. And for those wondering why we would engage with the president-elect in these contentious times, I’d ask: why wouldn’t we?”
Recognizing the deep divisions within Washington, she stated, “Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, starting with not just discussing Trump, but engaging with him.”
Trump addressed their meeting in an interview with Fox News, emphasizing the critical role of a “free, fair, and open media” in his vision to “Make America Great Again.” He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to engage in an open dialogue with Scarborough and Brzezinski, deeming the meeting “extremely cordial.”
“We discussed various matters, and I truly valued their willingness to communicate openly,” Trump remarked, also noting that they congratulated him on running “a great and flawless campaign, one for the history books.”