Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough knocked those who criticized comedian Michelle Wolf for her routine at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for failing to defend his cohost and fiancée Mika Brzezinski when President Trump attacked her appearance and intelligence.
“Really, Mika, the criticism from Trump supporters is rich,” Scarborough said Monday. “I must say, there were quite a few people that I’ve known and I’ve considered friends for some time saying they were shocked and stunned and deeply saddened and they were so shocked by the personal insults that they left early.”
“And then they went to afterparties and had a great time there, but these friends of mine for 20 years certainly didn’t call me up and say, ‘hey, Joe, we’re thinking about you. So sorry he attacked your fiancée’s appearance,’” he continued.
Trump, who once regularly called into the “Morning Joe” set, has been feuding with the two hosts for most of his presidency.
Trump attacked Brzezinski on Twitter last year, claiming that she and Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, came to his Mar-a-Lago estate while she was ”bleeding badly from a face-lift.”
{mosads}Scarborough also cited Trump’s attacks on him. The president last year appeared to call for an investigation into the death of a staffer for the former GOP congressman.
Lori Klausutis, a 28-year-old Scarborough staffer, was found dead in his office in 2001. A local medical examiner ruled that the death was accidental.
“’Hey, Joe, we’re sorry that Donald Trump said you’re a murderer and you had to explain to your 9- or 14-year-old boy,’” Scarborough said.
“I understand it. I’m a big boy. I didn’t bitch about it at the time. But these people so shocked and stunned and deeply saddened that a comedian did what comedians do and yet they just apologized for Donald Trump over and over again and kept their mouths shut. What a joke,” he continued.
“That is rich,” Brzezinski added.
Brzezinski also hit at those criticizing Wolf, noting that she had been hired to tell jokes at the dinner.
“Who didn’t predict it becoming a huge problem having a comedian who is a little edgy coming into the White House dinner when the press is under fire by the president himself,” Brzezinski said.
“We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. I think it’s really having it both ways to have this woman at the dinner and then apologize for it. You own it, White House Correspondents’ Association. You invited her,” she said.
Wolf’s performance sparked a firestorm, particularly her jokes about press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Some have called for her or the association to apologize.
The White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement Sunday that Wolf’s routine was “not in the spirit” of its mission.