In a fiery return to “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski didn’t hold back their discontent after being taken off the air during the coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The pair fumed during their Tuesday morning broadcast voicing their frustration with MSNBC brass who seems to have lied to them.

Scarborough and Brzezinski began by addressing their audience, explaining how they were assured that NBC News channels would run a unified newsfeed all day. This promise, they noted, was not kept, leading to their absence on the critical morning following the assassination attempt. Scarborough expressed their surprise and disappointment, emphasizing their readiness to have been on air had they known about the change in plans.

Brzezinski bragged the show’s long-standing tradition of facilitating tough, civil conversations, arguing that their presence was crucial, especially in such turbulent times. However, the brass at MSNBC is also very aware of the show’s tradition of saying really stupid stuff and it’s probably why the network didn’t want them on the air.

“Morning Joe” has frequently been a platform for intense criticism of Trump, with Scarborough recently making extreme claims about Trump’s potential actions if re-elected. This rhetoric, combined with the current political climate, likely influenced MSNBC’s decision to pre-empt the show.

For example, look what happened to Jack Black and his band overseas. One of the actor’s bandmates joked about the assassination attempt on Trump during a concert. That prompted local politicians to demand the pair be deported immediately and the agency that represents Black’s bandmate has dropped him. Additionally, Black had to cancel the tour and pause the band due to the fallout.

MSNBC wants to avoid a Kathy Griffin situation.

Scarborough and Brzezinski’ were fuming and publically attacked NBC and told them that if they do it again he’ll leave the network.

Scarborough: “Next time we’re told there’s going to be a news feed replacing us…the news feed will be us or they can get somebody else to host the show.”pic.twitter.com/Df7MpU0bc9

— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) July 16, 2024