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Commentators from both sides of the political spectrum showed a moment of ideological harmony in criticizing MSNBC morning show co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for their meeting with Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate.
Knewz.com has learned that the Morning Joe co-hosts met the President-elect in order to "bridge the gap" and “restart communications.”
The MSNBC morning show was a notable critic of Trump throughout the presidential campaign, labeling him a "fascist" and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
However, the personal meeting with the President-elect was aimed at taking a "new approach" to the show's coverage of the upcoming Trump administration, according to reports.
Speaking on November 18's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski said that the co-hosts' decision to have a face-to-face meeting with Trump came amidst many of the show's viewers – including “regular citizens” and “political leaders,” according to her – expressing dread and dismay at the President-elect's cabinet selections.
"We expressed our own concerns on this broadcast and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the President-elect himself," Brzezinski said on the morning show.
"On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years," she added.
"We talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets. We talked about that a good bit," Scarborough joined in.
"It will come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so," the Morning Joe co-host further stated.
"What we did agree on was to restart communications," Brzezinski took over.
"My father often spoke with world leaders with whom he and the United States profoundly disagreed. That is a task shared by reporters and commentators alike. We had not spoken to Trump since March of 2020, other than a personal call that Joe made after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania," she said, clarifying her heavily criticized decision to speak to Trump.
She added that the would-be Republican President was "cheerful and upbeat" during the meeting with the morning show co-hosts and that “he seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues.”
The meeting saw individuals of both Republican and Democratic inclinations comment negatively on it, as they expressed their criticism of Scarborough and Brzezinski.
According to reports, the comments involve claims that the Morning Joe co-hosts are not committed enough to the conviction of their criticism of the President-elect over the years, with many labeling them "cowards" for approaching Trump.
CNN's "go-to GOP pundit" Scott Jennings wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Hitler getting a lot more meeting requests than I would’ve thought," taunting the MSNBC show about its previous comments regarding Trump.
Journalist Eli Lake also voiced his criticism about the matter on social media, saying, "Why would Trump bother talking to these people other than to urge them to seek mental health counseling?"
Fox News contributor Byron York described the meeting between the Morning Joe co-hosts and Trump as "Annals of shamelessness."
"They call Trump a fascist, and much, much more, and then, just 22 days after his 'Nazi-like' rally, they fly to Florida for an audience. Afterward, they say, 'We didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues,' but they want to 'restart communications.' What?" York wrote.
Former Trump spokesperson Steve Cortes directed sharp criticism at the co-hosts as well, calling them "dishonest."
"Mika & Joe scream for months that Trump is a 'fascist' who would 'end democracy.' Now that he’s elected — and very popular — they visit him like it’s just coffee with an opposing party politician???" Cortes wrote on X.
The MSNBC hosts were not spared by political commentators from the other side of the political spectrum as well, with noted journalist Keith Olbermann calling them "confidence tricksters," "grifters," and "Quisling"—broadly meaning a citizen or politician collaborating with an enemy.
The page "Republicans against Trump" on X, wrote, "This is why people don't trust the mainstream media anymore. Joe and Mika who constantly attack “fascist” Trump on their show, went to Mar a Lago to talk with Trump over the weekend."