“‘We shall not fail if we stand together,’” Scarborough said, as Mika Brzezinski — his co-host of 17 years and wife of six — nodded in affirmation beside him. “Because so said Lincoln then, and so says a watchful and very worried nation now.”
The past two weeks have demonstrated the formidable role that Scarborough and Brzezinski’s MSNBC morning show has played during the Biden administration. A show that has always spoken to the lives and egos of political power brokers has put itself ever more firmly at the center of the discussion, as high-profile guests hold forth on the president’s debate performance and the political firestorm it has created.
“It’s the get-together of all the thought leaders in the country,” said Donny Deutsch, a former advertising executive and longtime MSNBC pundit who has used his recent appearances on the show to call for Democrats to replace Biden on the ticket.
“Right now it’s the ultimate political town hall meeting for America with what’s going on.”
A day before Scarborough’s monologue, the political universe was glued to the show to see the morning’s top guest, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, call on Biden “to decide if he is going to run.”
Of course, Biden has already made up his mind that he is running, something he made amply clear in his own appearance, via phone, on Monday’s show, when he launched an offensive against restless Democratic donors, pundits and elected officials who have publicly cast doubt on his abilities.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites,” the president told his hosts, before quickly adding: “Now, I’m not talking about you guys.”
Granted, Scarborough, a former Republican congressman (now an independent), and Brzezinski, a television news veteran and the daughter of a former national security adviser, are about as elite as it gets in media-political circles. And they seem determined to use their status to assist some compromise or consensus about what should happen to Biden’s candidacy.
Not unlike “Fox & Friends” during the Trump administration, “Morning Joe’s” relevance is derived in part from the influence of one particular power-watcher: the president of the United States, who watches the show most mornings, often while he is working out.
“The fact that we know the president is a reliable viewer means content from their show gets outsize attention,” said a Democratic strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share candid thoughts.
Both Scarborough and Brzezinski have been regular visitors to the White House in the Biden administration, according to visitor logs. But after Biden’s highly criticized debate performance, the show has emerged as a therapy session-cum-gladiatorial arena, where shaken Democrats grapple with what could be Biden’s final days as a presidential candidate.
Scarborough himself has appeared to be on a journey as well. The morning after the debate, he took pains to praise Biden as a “man I love” — before declaring that a CEO of any major corporation would be fired if he turned in a similar performance.
In recent days, however, prominent Democrats who spoke with The Post said they believe that Scarborough has moved back into Biden’s column. (The hosts declined a request for an interview.) On Thursday’s show, Scarborough floated a theory from the president’s camp that former president Barack Obama is “quietly working behind the scenes” to undermine him.
While Brzezinski has been a more reliable supporter of Biden staying in the race, she, too, called the debate “an unmitigated disaster by any measure” — joining a chorus of criticism from a group of MSNBC hosts who are normally sympathetic to Biden.
On Wednesday, Brzezinski told Pelosi that the party was facing “depression” over the president’s performance.
With a steady supply of guest appearances by members of Biden’s campaign team, the show is perceived as a reliable supporter of the president and his policies.
“The role they’ve played is just doing the bidding of the Biden White House and the Biden campaign,” said one Democratic consultant close to the White House, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, who called it a “safe choice” for the White House to put Biden on “Morning Joe.”
But Deutsch said there has been no pressure to take a particular stance on Biden. The show’s voices have ranged from Brzezinski, with her supportive posture, to former Council on Foreign Relations president Richard N. Haass, who has said he does not think Biden can beat Trump.
“You see different opinions on the show and you don’t always see that on television, and I think that’s what viewers respect about it,” Deutsch said.
On Wednesday, Pelosi seemed to help revive the movement to oust Biden with her curious word choice about awaiting Biden’s “decision.”
“Do you want him to run?” Jonathan Lemire, a “Morning Joe” regular, asked Pelosi.
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do,” Pelosi said — a sound bite that sent shock waves through Washington at a time when the effort to push Biden had seemed to ebb.
While Pelosi’s decision to appear on “Morning Joe” that day struck some political watchers as significant, her spokesperson said the interview had been booked weeks ago, timed to the NATO summit. Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appeared on the show with her, sitting quietly as Pelosi was grilled about American politics.
“Morning Joe” which sprawls across four hours of the morning (plus a crack-of-dawn hour hosted by Lemire) may take up as big a part of the Democratic Party’s headspace as it does the MSNBC schedule, with clips from the show rocketing across social media as partisans try to turn the interviews to their advantage.
The show was launched in 2007 as an emergency schedule filler after veteran host Don Imus was fired for making racially insensitive comments. Its viewership, while robust, has never been as central to its staying power as its audience, which includes some of the most important decision-makers in American politics.
“‘Morning Joe’ revolutionized morning TV because viewers quickly came to appreciate the show’s authenticity,” said Chris Licht, the show’s founding executive producer and the former chief executive of CNN. “If you want to make news, you go on the program. If you want to learn what’s happening behind the scenes, you watch. It’s no surprise that ‘Morning Joe’ is front and center at this critical moment in our nation’s history.”
While Pelosi’s “Morning Joe” appearance bolstered Biden’s party critics, the show has also become a regular stop for his supporters. Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison told worried Democrats to “lock your knees and stiffen your spines” in their support of Biden. On Thursday, former MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews predicted that Biden would triumph in the party civil war.
“This elite-fashioned attack on him, they’re going to pay for it,” Matthews said. “But in the end, they’re going to end up voting for him.”
In his final moments on the show on Monday, with the fate of his presidency on the line, Biden pledged to be a regular presence on “Morning Joe” — if the hosts will have him.
“Let’s make this a thing,” Brzezinski said.
“I’m not going away,” Biden replied. “If you’re willing to hear from me, I’m willing to talk to you.”
