(IntegrityTimes.com) – MSNBC made the decision to not air its “Morning Joe” show on June 15 following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The network’s official statement claimed it was focused on providing coverage of the breaking news following the shooting, which left one dead and another two critically injured. The statement by a company representative noted the “complexity” of the shooting.
Reporters citing someone familiar with the issue claimed, however, that the network made the decision to avoid the possibility of inappropriate comments being made on live television. Concerns were reportedly raised that controversial comments about the attempt on Trump’s life could come back to haunt the network as a whole. The network’s flagship roundtable show features two dozen commentators as well as guests.
The show’s host Joe Scarborough criticized the decision, stating that he was initially under the impression the show was pulled to make time for a breaking news live broadcast instead, which was not the case. Scarborough, who hosts the left-leaning show with his wife Mika Brzezinski, said that they had talked about the tragic event off-air and planned to on-air. He added that they talked about “everything” on the show, and that Morning Joe was meant for the difficult questions that would be asked following such an event.
Several leftist commentators have argued against silencing criticism of Trump following President Joe Biden’s call to “cool it down”. Republicans have themselves blasted the Biden administration for its aggressive censorship, particularly the White House’s collaboration with Big Tech firms to monitor social media commentary. Columnist Margaret Sullivan, however, stressed that the attempt on Trump’s life should not be used to stifle valid criticism of the former president and his policies.
As promised, Scarborough did not hold back in his criticisms of the former president in the show’s broadcast on Tuesday. The host read out past comments by Trump’s former primary rival Nikki Haley after she united with other Republicans behind Trump at the Republican National Convention.
Scarborough reminded viewers that Haley had called the former president “unhinged” and “suicide for our country”. He also pointed out that she had called for Trump to take a cognitive test.
The show’s bias against Trump has already been noted by conservative reporters. Following Biden’s one-on-one debate with Trump, Brzezinski argued that “one bad night” in Biden’s case was nothing compared to a “decade of destruction” under Trump, who has now been officially nominated as the GOP’s presidential candidate.
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