Scarborough apologizes to Pence, Cruz after heated Twitter feud

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough apologized to Vice President Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after getting into a weekend Twitter feud, saying he was wrong to retweet a video produced by the late night host Jimmy Kimmel and that he should not have allowed himself to be provoked. 

“About last night: I gotta work on some things myself. I feel really bad about retweeting the Jimmy Kimmel video,” Scarborough wrote while retweeting conservative pundit Erick Erickson. “I feel worse about being provoked. I apologize again to Mike Pence, to my Twitter followers, and to Ted. I’ve got to do better.”

About last night: I gotta work on some things myself. I feel really bad about retweeting the Jimmy Kimmel video. I feel worse about being provoked. I apologize again to Mike Pence, to my Twitter followers, and to Ted. I’ve got to do better. https://t.co/LOq0TcQsHs

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 9, 2020

The Kimmel video showed Pence delivering protective gear to a Virginia hospital. During part of the video, Pence is told that some of the boxes are empty, and he jokes to staffers about whether he should carry those in to the hospital. The only boxes he carries in are full of protective gear, but the video suggests Pence was bringing in empty boxes.

After Cruz criticized Scarborough for tweeting the video, Scarborough ripped Cruz, saying he had sold his soul to support President Trump.

Ted, when I make a mistake I admit it. You remain mired in shame because you kowtow to a man who called your wife ugly and said your daddy assassinated JFK. Me messing up a tweet or two will never erase the shame you carry every day of your life. https://t.co/eJa4qWzqA2

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 8, 2020

You lose this fight every time.
You sold your soul to Trump.
You. Lose.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 8, 2020

Cruz had ripped Scarborough as “dishonest and corrupt” for sharing the video.

Joe, you chased after Trump for 2 years like a teenage girl throwing her panties at the latest boy band; now you pretend to be this indignant paragon of virtue outraged at everything he says & does. All to get invited to DC cocktail parties & thrill the 13 people watching MSNBC. https://t.co/XG9P0Bwrbp

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020

The Hill has reached out to Cruz’s office for comment.

On Friday, a Washington Post fact-checker wrote that Kimmel’s video clip was misleading.

Kimmel later deleted the tweet and apologized for mischaracterizing Pence’s actions, while still taking a shot at the Trump administration by saying, “I know how dearly this administration values truth.”

“Kimmel is a comedian, but he still should be careful about perpetuating a narrative that the media peddles ‘fake news.’ This was certainly a phony tale, and it can undercut accurate and dogged reporting by real reporters,” Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote.

“This is a clear case of manipulated video, according to our guide. It is an example of ‘deceptive editing-omission,’ ” he added.

Kessler said that because Kimmel apologized and deleted the tweet, he avoided being awarded four Pinocchios.