Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough cursed at the top of Tuesday‘s broadcast in a very early rant about President Trump’s public spat with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Trump ignited a back-and-forth with Pritzker after he threatened to send National Guard troops into Chicago after launching a crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. The president and the Democratic billionaire have since traded headline-grabbing jibes about each other’s weight. “He’s not in good shape,” Pritzker said, after Trump called for Pritzker to hit the gym.
On Morning Joe, Scarborough said that Trump’s attacking style actually plays into his opponents’ hands by amplifying their responses.
“Donald Trump is helping everybody that wants to run, he’s like ‘OK, we’ll give Gavin Newsom his time, we’ll give J.B. Pritzker [his time,] and they can all say, ‘I fought Trump!’” Scarborough said.
Pritzker, like Newsom, has been tipped as a possible Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2028. The California Governor has boosted his public profile with ceaseless meme-heavy attacks on Trump and his administration.
Over the weekend, Trump added Baltimore to his ever-growing list of potential targets for a crime crackdown. This ignited a public feud with Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who, like Pritzker and Newsom, now stands to gain politically from the exposure, by Scarborough’s reckoning.
As he continued his rant, Scarborough managed to squeeze in a Lion King reference and swore, all just after 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. “It’s one of these things, it’s like, Elton John saying it’s the ‘circle of life.’ Donald Trump wins because the people are p----d off on the other side,” Scarborough said, adding that it’s also a “win” for Trump’s opponents because they get to push back against his attacks.
“For the pure politics of it, everybody’s a winner,” Scaroborugh said. “You’re a winner, you’re a winner, you’re a winner!” he added, gesturing towards imaginary winners. Scarborough said the fights are wins just “politically” for the figures involved: “Never mind the constitutional stakes at hand.”
Co-anchor Willie Geist added that Trump “enjoys” the fights because he’s “elevating these people” before “taking a swing at them,” and starting a public feud. “But as you say, the consequences are very serious for these cities and states,” he added.
During an Oval Office appearance on Monday, Trump blasted Pritzker’s appearance, saying, “He ought to spend more time at the gym, actually. The guy is a disaster.”
Pritzker later hit back at the 79-year-old president’s own fitness, which has come under scrutiny thanks to his of recurring bruises, wobbly walking, and even cankles.
“It takes one to know one on the weight question,” Pritzker said Monday. “And the president, of course, himself, is not in good shape. So, he ought to respond to that from me,” he added, offering “bully” Trump the chance to keep the fight going.
