Scarborough: Trump would arrest his media critics ‘tomorrow’ if he could

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Wednesday he believes President Trump would immediately throw his media critics — including the “Morning Joe” host and his wife and co-host, Mika Brzezinski — in jail “if he could get away with it,” in an effort to silence his critics. 

The opinion from the former GOP congressman comes after Trump criticized the seven- to nine-year sentence recommended for his former associate Roger Stone in a Tuesday tweet. The Department of Justice then announced it was changing its recommendation, which appeared to prompt the entire four-prosecutor team working on the case to resign from it.

“Would Donald Trump not do whatever he could do if he could get away with it? Seriously,” Scarborough asked rhetorically on Wednesday morning.  

“If he could arrest every journalist he didn’t like, if he could arrest us tomorrow? Let me ask you a question: do you think he would arrest us tomorrow?” he continued. “Do you think he would arrest the editor of The New York Times, the editor of The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos? Do you think he would arrest them tomorrow and throw them in jail to silence them?”

Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, is the owner of The Washington Post, while Marty Baron serves as editor-in-chief.

“If he felt like it,” co-host Brzezinski replied.

“Because if you don’t think he wouldn’t, you’re just lying to yourself,” Scarborough said. 

 

Trump has not appeared on MSNBC since May 2016 after doing regular, extended interviews mostly by phone with Scarborough and Brzezinski on “Morning Joe” throughout the 2016 Republican primary season. 

The president on Wednesday congratulated Attorney General William Barr for “taking charge” of the Stone case, which he dubbed “totally out of control” in a Wednesday tweet.

“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” Trump wrote to his more than 71 million followers.

The change to the sentencing recommendation has prompted a firestorm in Washington and calls for an investigation, including from former 2020 hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).