The MSNBC morning show “Morning Joe” is facing an intense internal backlash after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski held a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The surprise sit-down has sent shockwaves through the MSNBC newsroom, leaving staff members and viewers disillusioned. Many within the network, who have seen Scarborough and Brzezinski as vocal critics of Trump for years, are now questioning their intentions and integrity, seeing the meeting as a shocking reversal and possible ploy for ratings.

One anonymous MSNBC staffer expressed outright disdain, calling the meeting “cowardice” and “opportunistic,” accusing the hosts of disregarding on-air warnings from anti-Trump author and historian Tim Snyder to avoid “obeying in advance” when dealing with Trump. For many at the network, Brzezinski and Scarborough’s decision to engage with Trump, whom they previously lambasted as a threat to democracy, marks a stunning pivot in tone.

Scarborough says the backlash to his 180 on Trump doesn’t reflect reality: “Yesterday I saw for the first time what a massive disconnect there was between social media & the real world, b/c we were flooded with phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, very… pic.twitter.com/uHhh91lkVn

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 19, 2024

Brzezinski opened Monday’s show with a justification for the encounter, acknowledging the divisive political climate and claiming the meeting represented a necessary change in approach. “Joe and I realize it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him,” she explained. Brzezinski went on to describe Trump’s demeanor during the meeting as “cheerful and upbeat,” suggesting that he seemed interested in finding “common ground” with his political opponents.

The backlash, however, was swift. MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin slammed the meeting as “disgusting” on Bluesky, a platform many progressives are using as an alternative to X. Katie Phang, host of her own MSNBC show, echoed Rubin’s sentiment, warning that “Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.” Another unnamed staffer agreed, characterizing the co-hosts’ actions as an “access” move to curry favor rather than a serious attempt to hold Trump accountable, concluding, “They are opportunists.”

Morning Joe thinks the corporate media lost its relevance b/c they’re doing long-format journalism: “I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again, because we can’t compete with 20 second snippets on an iPhone.” pic.twitter.com/aIumfHkcfV

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 19, 2024

Outside of MSNBC, the meeting has only fueled more public skepticism about mainstream media integrity. Many viewers took to social media to voice their discontent, accusing the co-hosts of “kissing the ring” in an effort to salvage waning viewership.

“Bend the knee to the King in order to save their careers,” one viewer wrote on X, while another lamented the loss of trust in “Morning Joe” by tweeting, “Gutted by Joe and Mika this morning. Total capitulation after years of railing about his lack of fitness. Disappointed and done with them and their show.”

Scarborough attempted to push back against accusations of hypocrisy, stating, “Don’t be mistaken, we are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.” Yet for a sizable portion of the network’s viewership, the damage seems done. Some critics believe that the meeting signifies a troubling shift for the network, as it tries to reconcile its political stance with the realities of a new administration and evolving audience expectations. In the aftermath of the recent election, MSNBC has already seen a drastic 54% drop in ratings, signaling growing discontent with the network’s overtly partisan approach.