One of our unlikely allies in keeping Donald Trump and his inner circle from delegitimizing the mainstream media comes from none other than the Morning Joe crew over at Fox News. Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski seemingly went rogue on the Republican candidate before the election even took place, and since he won they’re holding him more accountable than ever.
Just last week, Brzezinski banned Trump mouthpiece Kelly Conway from appearing on the cable news show, a decision Scarborough defended while speaking to Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night (while admitting that his co-host is the one who’s really in charge). “Everything she said was disproven like five minutes later,” he said to Colbert. “It wasn’t disproven by a fact checker, it was somebody else in the administration that would come out and say, well actually no, that’s not true.”
“There’s a quicker way to say that entire sentence,” Colbert helpfully added. “She just lied.”
Scarborough later went on to explain the difference between supporting the president and keeping him in check, following an exchange on whether one should refer to Trump as “Donald” or “President Trump” — telling Colbert that the way he’s been acting, it “makes it even harder to call him president.” He then gave an inspired speech on why Americans more than ever need to step up and do their part, transcribed below in full.
Right now I think it’s the responsibility of all Americans, especially Republicans, and let me say especially Republicans in the senate, that when you have a President of the United States that questions judicial review, and questions the legitimacy of a federal judge, you have to stand up and say this is not right, and we’re gonna call it out. When you have a president that actually questions free speech, the first amendment and news organizations that are doing their jobs, I think it’s incumbent on my party, especially, to stand up right now and speak out, because — I always say this of everybody that gets in the White House — you say that you’re the center of the world right now, you don’t own this place, you are renting this place out, the American people are letting you have this. The Republican party needs to know, there is going to be a time after Donald Trump, and they are going to be judged for the next 50 years on how they respond to the challenges of today.
Following massive applause from the audience, Colbert replied with what many of us are probably thinking: “I wish I shared your optimism that there will be a time after Donald Trump.” Although, the guy is 70-years-old. His reign of terror has got to end eventually, one way or another.
