MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Pulled Off Air Amid Concerns Over Trump Assassination Attempt
MSNBC pulled its flagship morning show, “Morning Joe,” from the airwaves on Monday following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The decision to preempt the show, known for its staunchly anti-Trump stance, sparked widespread speculation and controversy.
Viewers tuning in for their usual dose of political commentary from hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski were instead met with continued NBC News special coverage of the attempted assassination, which occurred at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump sustained a minor injury, while the shooter killed one attendee and critically injured two others before being neutralized by law enforcement.
A spokesperson for MSNBC stated that the decision to pull “Morning Joe” was part of a broader strategy to maintain uninterrupted news coverage of the developing story. “Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW, and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening,” the network said in a statement. They added that the networks would continue cross-simulcasting to provide unified coverage of the incident.
However, a report by CNN suggested a different rationale behind the move. According to a person familiar with the decision, MSNBC executives, including NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde and MSNBC president Rashida Jones, made the call in consultation with Scarborough and Brzezinski due to concerns that one of the show’s numerous guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television. The network feared that such a comment could be used to assail the program and the network as a whole. MSNBC vehemently denied this report, insisting the decision was solely about the importance of uninterrupted news coverage.
The preemption of “Morning Joe” came at a critical time, as the show has been influential in political circles and particularly favored by President Joe Biden. The absence of the show on the first day of the Republican National Convention further fueled speculation about political motivations behind the move. Some critics argued that MSNBC’s decision demonstrated a lack of trust in its own programming, while others, including Scarborough himself, took to social media to express their sorrow over the political violence.
“Political violence has scarred America’s landscape from JFK through January 6th. Republican and Democratic politicians alike have been victims, and this violence has caused incalculable harm to America. Thank God President Trump is safe,” Scarborough wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He also extended prayers to Trump, those injured, and the family of the deceased, calling for an end to the violent political rhetoric that endangers public servants.
The decision to pull “Morning Joe” shocked many political observers and sparked reactions across the political spectrum. Conservative commentators criticized MSNBC for not trusting its high-profile show to handle the situation sensitively, while liberal voices decried the lack of the program’s critical analysis during such a significant news event.
OutKick founder Clay Travis remarked that it was the “biggest Monday” in Scarborough’s TV career, criticizing MSNBC for pulling him off the air out of fear of what might be said. Similarly, liberal journalist Jeff Jarvis expressed frustration over the decision, arguing that it was precisely in times of crisis that the analysis and conversation provided by shows like “Morning Joe” were most needed.