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First Ratings Report Since Trump Visit Brings Dismal News for 'Morning Joe'

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The ratings for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” nosedived after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed that they met with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday.

The meeting at Mar-a-Lago came after the two had called Trump a fascist and a threat to democracy among other derogatory statements over recent years.

Brzezinski began Monday’s program during the 6 a.m. ET hour saying that they had requested some time with the president-elect.

“On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,” she recounted.

Scarborough then jumped in saying that they talked about a lot of issues.

“It’s going to come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so,” he said.

Brzezinski then said, “What we did agree on was to restart communications.”

Will "Morning Joe" be cancelled?

The program’s liberal audience apparently did not like what they heard because viewership dropped off precipitously that day.

Fox News reported, “‘Morning Joe’ averaged 839,000 total viewers during the 6 a.m. ET hour on Monday with 113,000 in the advertiser-coveted demo ages 25-54. In the 7 a.m. ET hour, its total fell to 694,000 and just 70,000 in the key demo.” So that was a 38 percent decline in the key demo from 6 to 7 a.m.

Fox noted, “The drop-off was the opposite of the year-to-date ‘Morning Joe’ ratings that typically see the audience grow as more Americans wake up.”

Related:
'Morning Joe' Co-Hosts Quip They 'Could Be Fired' as Comcast Jettisons MSNBC in Spinoff

The program took a ratings hit Tuesday, as well, averaging only 638,000, with just 81,000 in the key demo during the 6 a.m. hour.

“So far in 2024, ‘Morning Joe’ has averaged a little over one million total viewers during the 6 a.m. hour, compared to 1.1 million starting at 7 a.m. ET,” Fox said.

The New York Post reported that Scarborough and Brzezinski received criticism from all sides of the political spectrum for going to meet Trump.

“A former ‘Morning Joe’ guest who spoke anonymously to The Post said that Scarborough ‘gives opportunism a bad name,’” the news outlet reported.

“He is the hollow man. There is nothing inside him except for a need for success and social status,” the former guest said.

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin argued good journalism did not require Scarborough and Brzezinski to go to Mar-a-Lago and “kiss his ring.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the move by the “Morning Joe” co-hosts was an attempt to boost their sinking ratings.

She posted on X on Monday, “Let’s be clear, Joe and Mika didn’t suddenly see the light, they saw their ratings.”

MSNBC parent company Comcast announced Wednesday it plans to spin off the ratings-challenged cable network as part of a reorganization plan.

Scarborough joked that they “could be fired tomorrow.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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