Senate

Sen. Reid mocks ‘Morning Joe’ for Koch brothers interview

by Jordain Carney - 11/04/15 11:16 AM ET

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday slammed the hosts of “Morning Joe” for their interview with Charles and David Koch, arguing that the media “rolls over” for the conservative billionaires.

Reid mocked the MSNBC hosts for asking questions about whether the Kochs play rugby or if they think they got their interest in philanthropy from their mother.

{mosads}”That’s very good. Wow. Those were some really tough questions asked by the host of ‘Morning Joe.’ That’s sufficient journalism,” Reid said from the Senate floor.

“Those questions are so easy, they may even qualify them to moderate the next Republican presidential debate.”

Joe Scarborough, one of the MSNBC hosts, quickly fired back at Reid on Twitter, calling the Nevada Democrat “bitter” about his party losing control of the Senate in the 2014 elections.

“Guess you’re still bitter because your dumb strategy to focus so much on the Kochs cost Democrats the majority,” Scarborough said, adding that he can’t “pull off that Joseph McCarthy routine” as well as Reid.

Charles and David Koch appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday in their first-ever joint television interview. The publicity-shy brothers have been stepping up their media presence in recent weeks while pushing back on Democratic accusations that they are controlling the Republican Party with their wealth.

No one has attacked the Kochs with more gusto than Reid, who has repeatedly criticized the brothers and suggested that they are a threat to the country.

A super-PAC aligned with the Democratic leader ran ads against Republican candidates during the past election cycle highlighting their ties to the Koch brothers, and Reid has frequently assailed the Kochs from the Senate floor.

Reid on Wednesday said journalists are “intimidated” by the brothers, who have used the wealth generated by Koch Industries to pour millions of dollars into conservative organizations and causes

“The Kochs have also procured a media that is intimidated by their billions, too intimidated to hold them accountable,” the Democratic leader said. “It seems that some journalists are determined not to get on the wrong side of the Koch brothers and their billions.”

“When the media rolls over for those modern-day robber barons, as it’s doing now, our country is in trouble.”

This story was updated at 12:35 p.m.

Tags Harry Reid