Between retweeting anti-Muslim videos propagated by a far-right British group and gloating about Matt Lauer’s firing from Today, Donald Trump’s Wednesday morning tweets were all over the place. Yet the chance to suggest everyone at NBC News and Comcast “be fired for putting out so much Fake News” was only the beginning, for the president quickly set his sights on Morning Joe co-anchor Joe Scarborough, a favorite punching bag of his. “And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the “unsolved mystery” that took place in Florida years ago?” he exclaimed. “Investigate!”
So now that Matt Lauer is gone when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin? And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the “unsolved mystery” that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017
Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump's bizarre tweets. He is not well. https://t.co/XJhW5ZHNfs
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) November 29, 2017
“Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump’s bizarre tweets,” Scarborough remarked. “He is not well.” The so-called “unsolved mystery” in Florida that Trump made a passing reference to was that of Lori Klausutis’s death in 2001. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the young Scarborough staffer was found dead in the then-congressman’s office. The medical examiner at the time determined, “Klausutis… lost consciousness because of an abnormal heart rhythm and fell, hitting her head on a desk. The head injury caused the death.” Police also “said there was (sic) no signs of foul play or outward indication of suicide.”
Even so, the case of Klausutis’s death has been a source of rampant speculation for conspiracy theory websites and outlets. And considering Trump’s well-documented penchant for digesting and repeating such material, that he would reference the story to jab at Scarborough comes as no surprise. Even so, that didn’t stop the MSNBC personality’s fellow political commentators and other journalists from commenting on the president’s apparent accusation.
https://twitter.com/PalmerReport/status/935870864419164160
So far Donald Trump today…
– Retweeted three videos from an alt-right site
– Said to boycott CNN
– Accused Joe Scarborough of murder
– Possible nuclear warIt’s not even fucking 10am yet!
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) November 29, 2017
Asked the White House if President Trump would sit down with me to discuss his allegations against Joe Scarborough. "The President is not available for an interview," responds Hope Hicks.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) November 29, 2017
Just now processing that falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder may have been one of the more responsible things that the President tweeted this morning
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/935874937394429952
If Trump gets Joe Scarborough put away for murder because his morning gabfest wasn't nice enough to him he will join the ranks of great American presidents
— Will 🦥 Menaker (@willmenaker) November 29, 2017
UPDATE: In a statement to New York magazine, Morning Joe co-host (and Scarborough’s fiance) Mika Brzezinski said, “Today the president crossed another deeply disturbing line.”
NBC has provided @NYMag with Mika Brzezinski's statement, on behalf of her and Joe Scarborough, in response to Donald Trump's tweet this morning regarding the congressional staffer who died in Scarborough's Florida office in 2001: https://t.co/ruZfDgjHhQ pic.twitter.com/9Bnjmufp0A
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) November 29, 2017