August 30, 2016

On Morning Joe today, Mika said what a lot of us are thinking: Why is the media treating Donald Trump as if he is a serious candidate with actual policies? It is clear that he is both hardening and softening at the same time, pivoting 720 degrees at a time and talking out of both sides of his mouth on every issue. Here is the exchange:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: ...a lot of softening going around with Trump here. But I don't know if you focus group this or market tested this, but I have found in the past when speaking to political audiences saying ‘your life sucks’ and ‘you're being slaughtered’, it’s not as good as, ‘happy days are here again,’ ‘Morning in America’ or ‘I believe that America’s best days lie ahead of her’

WILLIE GEIST: ‘What the hell do you have to lose? Your life sucks.’ isn’t a good…

EUGENE ROBINSON: Yeah, right.

SCARBOROUGH: “Listen, there may be a little bit of radiation fallout in your neighborhood, from the nuclear blast, in the third world war, but what do you have to lose?” (laughter)

MIKA BREZINSKI: I think that’s the question for the Republican Party. And you need to ask yourselves, what do you have to lose? By doing the right thing… (crosstalk)

ROBINSON: They know it! They know exactly what they have to lose!

SCARBOROUGH: They know what they have to lose. Still ahead on Morning Joe…

BREZINSKI: Wait…hold on

SCARBOROUGH: Ohhhh c’mon don’t don’t don’t

BREZINSKI: Aren’t they losing everything right now? Look at their candidate! Look at this conversation! We’re talking about nothing! We’re talking about a guy who means nothing, who says nothing, who has no opinions. We’re talking about a speech, that will probably end up being something that he doesn’t mean. And we’re pretending to try and “translate strategy” out of it. That’s your party! That’s your leader! You have something to lose, by sticking by this? I think, down the line, yes, you do! I do! I don’t know what we’ve talked about, honestly. Nothing!

SCARBOROUGH: I think they do….

BREZINSKI: He says nothing that he means.

SCARBOROUGH: It's so good --

BREZINSKI: ...you got a good song out of it.

SCARBOROUGH: -- to hear from you on this point. (laughter)

BREZINSKI: What?

SCARBOROUGH: Still ahead on Morning Joe, this guy is so good, actually one of my favorite lines in a comedy from Willie Wonka saying to horrific kids, “No...Don't...Stop.” The remarkable life of Gene Wilder.

BREZINSKI: We can ask Tom. [upcoming guest Rep. Tom Cole]

SCARBOROUGH: You're off the set when Tom Cole comes on because you're going to ask the same questions over and over again and we're not going to let you do it.

BREZINSKI: You’re going to make news out of this? This is Paris Hilton territory.

SCARBOROUGH: We're going to talk about policy. you're not allowed to talk to Tom Cole. You can talk to Ana Marie Cox.

BREZINSKI: I love Ana.

Joe clearly doesn't like her attempt at actual journalism and her punishment is being kicked off set for fear that she will ask real questions when Rep. Cole comes on. She was welcomed back, but didn't ask any questions.

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