See How the Ongoing Donald Trump-Mika Brzezinski Feud Unfolded
President Donald Trump and MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are caught up in a dustup that’s seeing allegations and snark fly from all sides.
What exactly are the President of the Unites States and TV anchors fighting about? If you need a quick catchup on what’s happening, here’s a helpful timeline of how the spat began Thursday morning and has developed since then:
Thursday June 29, 8:52 a.m. (ET)
President Trump launches an attack on Morning Joe, nicknaming Brzezinski and Scarborough “low I.Q. Crazy Mika” and “Psycho Joe.” In a second tweet, Trump says that Brzezinski once showed up to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida “bleeding badly from a face-lift.” The latter comment was met with shock even by members of the President’s own party.
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 9:19 a.m.
Neither hosts immediately respond. But around an hour and a half later, Brzezinski shares an image on Twitter referencing a long-running joke about the size of Trump’s hands — something Trump himself infamously weighed in on during a Republican presidential debate last year.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 9:38 a.m.
Mark Kornblau, spokesperson for NBCUniversal News Group, posts a tweet saying he “never imagined a day” when he would think that it was “beneath [his] dignity to respond to the President of the United States.”
Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, "it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States."
— Mark Kornblau (@MarkKornblau) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 9:59 a.m.
MSNBC releases a statement calling it a “sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying.”
MSNBC statement: pic.twitter.com/33QD7mcRRJ
— Gerry Smith (@gerryfsmith) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 10:16 a.m.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse condemns Trump’s posts on Twitter. “Please just stop. This isn’t normal and it’s beneath the dignity of your office,” he writes.
Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office.
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 10:25 a.m.
Sunday Today host and Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist sends a message telling his Twitter followers that Mika Brzezinski is “smart as hell.”
Good time to remind you that @MorningMika is smart as hell, stronger than any critic, & a role model for what we hope our daughters can be.
— Willie Geist (@WillieGeist) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, approx. 10:30 a.m.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defends the President’s tweets on Fox News. “This President isn’t going to sit back and not push back, and he’s going to fight fire with fire, and I think that’s exactly what he did today,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.”
.@SarahHuckabee just on Fox: "People on that show have personally attacked me many times. This is a president who fights fire with fire..." pic.twitter.com/bWVKyfoQfM
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, 11:38 a.m.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said in a statement that Trump’s tweets “don’t help our political or national discourse and do not provide a positive role model for our national dialogue.”
On the President's tweets this morning ? pic.twitter.com/tJJqsV8KCb
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) June 29, 2017
Thursday June 29, approx. 2 p.m.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders doubles down on her defense of the President during the daily White House press conference. “When he gets attacked he’s going to hit back,” said the White House spokeswoman. “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that he fights fire with fire.”
Thursday June 29, 4:17 p.m.
Former White House communications director and MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace slams Trump’s comments. “All the women [working in the White House] collecting pay-checks from the U.S. taxpayers… you should all go on the record and condemn your boss’ comments and you should work behind the scenes to educate him about just how offensive they are,” she says.
As a former WH comms director, my thoughts to the President's tweets: https://t.co/hhDNMWeAmL
— Nicolle Wallace (@NicolleDWallace) June 29, 2017
Friday June 30, 5:10 a.m.
Brzezinski and Scarborough publish a scathing op-ed in The Washington Post, called ‘Donald Trump is not well.’ In it, they write that it is “disturbing that the president of the United States keeps up his unrelenting assault on women.”
MSNBC's Joe and Mika: "Donald Trump is not well" https://t.co/SvKxWsQhXI via @PostOpinions
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 30, 2017
Friday June 30, 7 a.m.
Brzezinski and Scarborough appear on MSNBC to talk about Trump’s tweets. Scarborough alleges on the show that senior White House aides asked him to apologize to the President to prevent the publication of a negative story about Scarborough in the National Enquirer.
.@morningmika: "It’s been fascinating and frightening and really sad for our country" #morningjoe pic.twitter.com/Ch9fekp905
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) June 30, 2017
Friday June 30, 8:55 a.m.
Trump dismisses Scarborough’s claims and describes Morning Joe as “fake news” and a “bad show.”
Watched low rated @Morning_Joe for first time in long time. FAKE NEWS. He called me to stop a National Enquirer article. I said no! Bad show
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
Friday June 30, 9:02 a.m.
Scarborough responds over Twitter, asking President Trump why he keeps “lying about things that are easily disproven.”
“I have texts from your top aides and phone record,” Scarborough adds. “Also, those records show I haven’t spoken with you in many months.”
Yet another lie. I have texts from your top aides and phone records. Also, those records show I haven't spoken with you in many months. https://t.co/TZWiElo6Gs
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 30, 2017
Why do you keep lying about things that are so easily disproven? What is wrong with you? https://t.co/aAoUj5HYZS
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 30, 2017
Friday June 30, 9:54 a.m.
Jerry Springer weighs in on Twitter. “I’m sorry, but Trump’s behavior is not just beneath the dignity of the Presidency…but that of any decent man,” he writes, later adding: “Every day, I’m presented with someone who acts inappropriately. Why would anyone think that behavior belongs in the White House?”
I'm sorry, but Trump's behavior is not just beneath the dignity of the Presidency...but that of any decent man.
— Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) June 30, 2017
Every day, I'm presented with someone who acts inappropriately. Why would anyone think that behavior belongs in the White House?
— Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) June 30, 2017