Profiles in Cowardice: Morning Joe and Capitulation Among Liberals in the Trump Era

Morning Joe was just the first chapter in what is sure to be a long, destructive, and frustrating collapse during the Trump Era

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The reaction was immediate. Following the disastrous 2024 Presidential Election, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and the entire Morning Joe crew on MSNBC wasted no time throwing gay and trans people under the bus and laying the blame for the loss on “the Left.” It was expected, but still wild following a Harris Campaign that based its entire strategy on appealing to Republicans and conservatives. But let it be understood that centrists and moderates are always looking for an opportunity to move the Democratic Party to the Right, so that was unsurprising.

I can’t say that Scarborough and Brzezinski’s normalization of Donald Trump was unexpected either, but I was still shocked at just how quickly it happened.

These two self-serving cowards practically broke the sound barrier getting to Mar a Lago so they could kiss Trump’s ring and carve out their position. They took to the air on Monday to lay it out for their viewership. Trump listened to their concerned and left them feeling like there was room for cooperation. They said they’d spoken with several “powerful Democrats” who voiced a hope that Trump, this time, might very well be willing to work with them and turn the page. It’s telling that Brzezinski laid out the potential deal in a practiced and determined monologue: Democrats needed to stop demonizing Trump, citing “hyperbole and personal attacks,” and Trump needed to refrain from “threatening political opponents with arrest, harassment, and even jail.”

Oh, Mika. You had to make it so incredibly obvious.

CNN was quick to report that this turn was inspired by Scarborough and Brzezinski’s fear that Trump would use his newfound power to attack them. For the past few years the duo had sailed on the headwinds of popular hate of Trump, portraying themselves as critical opponents, and when the wind shifted they were more than happy to grovel and beg for favor. Trump and his compatriots had played a masterful hand. They’d been promising to use the presidency and control over Congress to persecute political enemies in the halls of power and media. Joe and Mika made a quick calculation and got on the nearest plane for Florida.

But cowardice deserves examination. It reveals what actually matters and doesn’t matter. And it reveals how authoritarianism works in propagating itself.

We must take a second and note that Morning Joe is one of the most popular and influential shows among liberals, including high-ranking Democrats. It’s the favorite program of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Scarborough and Brzezinski set the liberal agenda and talking points everyday, welcoming to their set some of the most respected liberal strategists, insiders, historians, and personalities. Much as The New York Times does with newspapers and reportage, their conversations frame the direction of not just the Democratic Party, but liberaldom writ large. And, I mean, look at what’s happening with The Times if you think this is isolated to Joe and Mika alone.

To understand the larger implications, people needed reminded that Joe Scarborough is, himself, a former Republican congressman, and Brzezinski the daughter of one of the most powerful practitioners realpolitik in modern history. That these two clowns came to this place of prominence in liberal affairs - a Republican and the scion of an imperial tool - is an indictment of that world in and of itself. Their capitulation to Trump and the authoritarian movement is quite a signal of where this is going.

As Trump wields incredible power on behalf of his oligarchical puppetmasters, as he targets anyone who doesn’t bow down like them, as he decimates the social safety net and ruins the standard of living, Morning Joe will undoubtedly take a leading role in presenting all of this as debatable, if not entirely acceptable and positive. This will coincide with a growing movement within the Democratic Party - you can already see people like Delaware Senator Chris Coons starting this shift - looking for “common ground,” including slashing social programs and beefing up authoritarian law enforcement.

It’s an easy decision for these ghouls. After all, it fits into their worldview and politics quite easily. The problem they had with Trump, from the beginning, was his aesthetics. He’s an outsider, which is strike one, but he’s also vulgar and open with his prejudices. They wanted someone like George W. Bush who carries out the necessary violence of capitalism but does it while saying the right things about “American exceptionalism” and caring about people, which helps explain why Democrats have worked so hard to launder Bush and Dick Cheney’s reputation as Trump gained power. Aesthetics don’t matter now, though, after Trump took the popular vote and has power. The election results gave these creeps carte blanche to lean right into all of it and, here’s the kicker, get quicker and more dependable results since they don’t have to worry about institutional guardrails or backlash anymore.

When you add in protection from legal, economic, and political repercussions? Turning tail or licking the boot isn’t a hard choice.

You’ll see a lot of this with the Democratic Party, liberals, and liberal media. Already CNN and MSNBC have shifted their programming. A lot of “anti-Trump” liberals are dropping out and taking care of themselves, creating an audience vacuum the liberal networks will try and fill with Republicans, or else pushing for the Democrats to sacrifice gay and trans people and people of color and women and embrace, wholeheartedly, their own brand of MAGA politics. In this, the game is being revealed. Our present political “realignment” is the same thing that’s been happening for decades. The Republicans are becoming more authoritarian and the Democrats are becoming more conservative and, in following the lead, will continue to push further and further Right as fast as they can.

This is what happens in the absence of proper class politics. Things get weird and then the whole system shifts, even as you’re left wondering what in the living hell just took place. People laugh about Alex Jones viewers constantly changing their perspective of reality from day-to-day, but cognitive dissonance is a hell of a thing and requires constant shifting. Pretty soon, Trump the potential dictator becomes Trump the guy who might be reasonable and deserves our support.

The only thing you can do is anchor yourself to a reality that is real and true and reflective of actual things. Liberals in the media and political classes are only loyal to each other and their own classes. Where the political winds shift is where they go, and they’re always looking to shift them in order to pad their own bank accounts and climb their ladders. Some days that means asking for peoples pronouns, somedays that calls for waltzing into Mar a Lago and groveling at a fascist’s feet. Life, as they say, comes at you fast.

There are choices to be made at this point. A lot of introspection to do. As I’ve explained previously, you can decide to reject these false stories about Red v. Blue and see that it’s actually a class war masquerading as a culture war, and stand on your principles and stand against this authoritarian threat. Or, you can emulate Joe and Mika and all the liberals who will follow them, and get in line with this death machine.

You’re going to have to choose a side. And it’s time to choose.