CNN Panel Goes Sideways Over Claim That ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Feared Trump’s ‘Retribution’

CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings was unconvinced — and amused — when fellow panelist Brian Stelter claimed on Tuesday that the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” had opted to meet with President-elect Donald Trump out of fear of “retribution.”

Stelter and Jennings sparred briefly on the topic during “CNN NewsNight” with host Abby Phillip as they discussed the fallout from a Friday meeting between Trump and “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

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NEW: @ScottJenningsKY's reactions are priceless as Brian Stelter ‘reports’ that Joe/Mika met with Trump because they feared retribution:

"I mean, isn't it possible too that they're just two people who are so full of themselves, so full of self-aggrandizement that they would feel… pic.twitter.com/Ecr6QItBq3

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 20, 2024

Scarborough and Brzezinski announced during their Monday morning broadcast that they had met with Trump, explaining that they had felt the need to reopen the lines of communication ahead of a second Trump administration. But according to Stelter, the meeting had been requested at least in part because the longtime morning show hosts were concerned that the Trump administration might “target” them for harassment or even prosecution.

“Right. Detente, appeasement. I don’t know what to call it. You know, Joe and Mika didn’t say much about it today, but according to my sources, they believed … they credibly were concerned that they faced governmental and legal harassment with this incoming administration, essentially, that they feared retribution. And that’s partly why they sought out this meeting,” Stelter said.

“And to be fair, to Brzezinski and Scarborough, they’re not the only MSNBC hosts or the only – the word journalists is complicated because they’re more like personalities – but there are a number of journalists at places like the [Associated Press] and other big news outlets that are concerned about retaliation in the coming months. Anything from IRS audits to lawsuits and things like that. There are media outlets bulking up on lawyers, thinking about having more libel insurance, those sorts of things,” Stelter continued. “Now, I don’t know exactly what the specific concern Joe and Mika had was or wasn’t. But they’re not the only MSNBC personalities worried about retaliation. However, they are the only ones to go down to Mar-a-Lago and have a meeting.”

Jennings wasn’t buying it, however, and he said so: “I mean, isn’t it possible too that they’re just two people who think [they] are so full of themselves, so full of self-aggrandizement, that they would feel like that they would be personally —”

Stelter interrupted, arguing that the “Morning Joe” hosts were not alone in their fears.

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“Well, I just, first of all, I can see why. Second of all, if that’s what happened and if that’s what they truly believed, why didn’t they go on TV and say that? ‘We went down there to meet with the president to tell him that, hey, anyone who’s been critical of you, you know, you should treat us like journalists and not like the enemy,'” Jennings replied. “They didn’t go on TV and say that, they went on TV and portrayed it much differently. So what I hear you saying in your reporting is they had a motive that they weren’t willing to disclose to their audience, which I think should get them more scorn today than they were already getting to begin with.”

Scarborough and Brzezinski caught flak from both sides of the political aisle for meeting with Trump, with many on the Left claiming that such a meeting would legitimize the incoming administration. On the right, critics asked why Trump would give them the time of day after Scarborough and Brzezinski had happily joined the other media talking heads who called him a fascist, a Nazi, and worse.

“Hitler getting a lot more meeting requests than I would’ve thought,” Jennings said at the time.