CNN had reported late Sunday that MSNBC decided to air news coverage instead of the daily morning opinion show “to avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”
That reporting led to a wave of outrage from left-leaning viewers, but also schadenfreude from conservatives, who viewed it as evidence that broadcasters who have long been critical of Trump — as hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have been — are stepping back amid the horror of the shooting.
But a network spokesperson “emphatically” denied CNN’s reporting, saying the decision was part of a broader programming strategy to cover the breaking news with a unified broadcast feed among NBC News, its cable sibling MSNBC and the streaming network NBC News Now, “given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story.”
“As we continue to cover this story into the week, the networks will continue to cross simulcast … so there is one news feed covering this developing situation,” the spokesperson added.
“Morning Joe” will be back on the air Tuesday morning, though it’s unclear whether the hosts will address their absence. The program that precedes “Morning Joe,” “Way Too Early With Jonathan Lemire,” was also preempted to air a special report from NBC News.
While the network has been in rolling breaking news coverage since the Saturday night shooting, a regular lineup of opinion hosts — including Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and Nicolle Wallace — will appear on Monday night, providing joint coverage of the first night of the Republican National Convention.
In a social media post, Scarborough expressed his sadness over the shooting, which left a firefighter, Corey Comperatore, dead. (The alleged shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service.)
“Our family is praying this morning for President Trump, those injured yesterday, and for the loved ones of the American tragically killed. May God grant mercy on them and deliver us from the violent political rhetoric that [coarsens] debate and endangers public servants,” Scarborough wrote.
An MSNBC producer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said he didn’t find the decision to preempt “Morning Joe” surprising, “because it kept with the strategy since the shooting happened.”
But a former MSNBC producer, Sean Graf, told The Washington Post that he found the decision “very shocking.”
“As a daily viewer of the program who turns to ‘Morning Joe’ for thoughtful analysis from Joe and Mika, I am very disappointed that MSNBC did not air the program today of all days,” he said. “We need more civilized, bipartisan conversations, not less, and that is what ‘Morning Joe’ does best.”
While “Morning Joe” has always been influential in national political circles, the show has taken on a special significance in the weeks since President Biden’s halting debate performance, as viewers and political insiders have tuned in to see what the co-hosts say about Biden’s candidacy.
On Monday afternoon, the New York Times reported that MSNBC has also shelved plans for a live stream that would have been hosted from the Republican National Convention by anchor Ali Velshi.
The shooting has scrambled other programming intended for the convention. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” planned to tape the show live from Milwaukee, but shelved that plan citing “logistical issues and the evolving situation in Milwaukee.”
Covering the aftermath of the shooting while also covering the convention has presented challenges for networks, which had already retooled their lineups to air live blocks of programming from Milwaukee.
