Joe Scarborough attacks report he partied with Trump

“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough took to Twitter Sunday to criticize a former CBS reporter for saying he partied with President-elect Donald Trump at his New Year’s Eve party.

His tweet-storm targeted Sopan Deb, who covered Trump on the campaign trail and will soon be joining The New York Times as a culture writer. Deb posted a screenshot of a paragraph from a New York Times report that noted Scarborough and MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski’s presence at Trump’s Florida party. 

 

Morning Joe’s hosts partied with Trump last night at Mar-A-Lago. Last year, Trump publicly thanked them for support. https://t.co/gLHtsOloph pic.twitter.com/6znKSoNf67

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 1, 2017

 

“Partied? You’re very good at pushing fake news. You should write for CNN. Apparently making up facts is fine if you’re writing about us,” Scarborough responded. 

He pointed out he had called Trump’s campaign “racist, xenophobic and disqualifying” and repeatedly criticized Deb. 

Last year I said Trump’s campaign was racist, xenophobic and disqualifying. But be snide while making facts up. Partied? Not even close. https://t.co/mCe0EYghRB

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

Partied? You’re very good at pushing fake news. You should write for CNN. Apparently making up facts is fine if you’re writing about us. https://t.co/mCe0EYghRB

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

Does @CBSNews know that you just make shit up on your twitter feed? https://t.co/mCe0EYghRB

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

Scarborough called Deb “a hack” for suggesting he partied with Trump.

“Last year, Trump publicly thanked David Axelrod for his support. Stop being such a hack,” he wrote.

“One of the more entertaining aspects of media coverage of media is how so many who blast Trump for half truths attack us with half truths,” he continued.

Scarborough said he was at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., before the party to try to set up an interview with the president-elect.

“Nothing that Mika and I did in setting up this meeting was any different than what all good reporters and news hosts try to do daily,” he said, adding, “I hope we get the interview.”

 

1. I “partied” last night by watching Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters with my kids. Then watched the Mariah Carey dumpster fire.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

2. Around 7pm, I had a preset meeting with PEOTUS before his party trying to set up an interview (much like reporters at CBS & NYT do.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

3. The event was black tie. Both Mika and I were in casual clothes, did not attend the party, and left before any “partying” began.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

4. Nothing that Mika and I did in setting up this meeting was any different than what all good reporters and news hosts try to do daily.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

5. Anyone suggesting otherwise is a hypocrite who ignores what great journalists from Ben Bradlee to Tom Brokaw have done for years.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

6. I hope we get the interview.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

7. Stop lying about us.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

 

Deb eventually responded to Scarborough.

“Agreed! Facts matter: so you weren’t at Mar-A-Lago on New Years Eve? You called it fake news, so let’s get this right.”

 

Agreed! Facts matter: so you weren’t at Mar-A-Lago on New Years Eve? You called it fake news, so let’s get this right. https://t.co/M8ByaSXHBE

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 1, 2017

He followed up by saying he should have said “attended,” rather than “partied” in his original tweet.

 

My word, not @maggieNYT‘s. I should’ve chosen a better word. “Attended” is more accurate. https://t.co/EYnjPAcTeO

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 1, 2017

 

Scarborough thanked him, but again clarified that he “did not ‘attend’ the party.” 

1. Thank you for that but I did not “attend” the party.

2. We walked through metal detectors and around the area guests were. https://t.co/xSXDVK5nNJ

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2017

–This report was updated on Jan. 2 at 10:50 a.m.