In recent weeks, Fox News has been losing audience, as some viewers have become disenchanted with the network's increasingly Trump-skeptical tone. Morning Joe has been a beneficiary of this trend, beating rival Fox & Friends in the ratings for the first time in almost 20 years.
Joe Scarborough et al. thus have an interest in encouraging Fox News to continue down the path that has benefitted Morning Joe. And thus it was that on today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist lavishly praised FNC personalities who have criticized the efforts of the Trump team to contest the election results. Scarborough and Geist singled out FNC's Kristin Fisher, playing a long excerpt of her takedown of yesterday's press conference featuring Rudy Giuliani.
After mentioning that "there’s been some news out there in the media community about Fox News losing a few viewers," Scarborough encouraged Fisher and others at FNC to keep going, assuring them that they were on the side of "truth" and "history."
Scarborough also made a not-so-subtle ratings brag, saying his show has played "the long game [of supposed truth-telling]" and that "I think this show is, you know, a good example of how you play the long game. And it ends up working out well for you."
Here's the moment from Scarborough:
So, that's Fox News reporter Kristin Fisher with that fact-check yesterday coming out of the Rudy Giuliani spectacle. And you know, Willie, there’s been some news out there in the media community about Fox News losing a few viewers because people were angry that they projected Arizona correctly. They’re angry that Chris Wallace actually sticks to the facts. They’re angry that people like that reporter actually delivered the news, stick to the facts, tell viewers the truth.... I think this show is, you know, is a good example of how you play the long game. And it ends up working out well for you. And Fox News in those type of reports are playing the long game. They’re actually on the side of history. They’re on the side of truth. T
Note: Willie Geist's mention of an FNC primetime host "bewildered" by yesterday's press conference with Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell was presumably a reference to Tucker Carlson, who questioned the absence of evidence supporting Powell's assertions.
Morning Joe's praises of Trump critics on Fox News was sponsored in part by Ninja Foodi, Chevrolet, and Allstate.
Here's the transcript. Click "expand" to read more.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
11/20/20
6:46 am ETKRISTIN FISHER [Fox News]: Well, that was certainly a colorful news conference from Rudy Giuliani, but it was light on facts. So much of what he said was simply not true, or has already been thrown out in court.
And Giuliani, he opened by making this really bold and baseless claim that a lot of this alleged nationwide voter fraud that he's referring to all came from one centralized place. He called it a nationwide conspiracy. And yet, he failed to provide any hard evidence to back up that one specific claim.. . .
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So, that's Fox News reporter Kristin Fisher with that fact-check yesterday coming out of the Rudy Giuliani spectacle. And you know, Willie, there’s been some news out there in the media community about Fox News losing a few viewers because people were angry that they projected Arizona correctly. They’re angry that Chris Wallace actually sticks to the facts. They’re angry that people like that reporter actually delivered the news, stick to the facts, tell viewers the truth.
But, you know, I feel like since I've been in cable news since 1934, I feel safe saying that people go for the quick kill often. They go for the sugar rush, the sugar high, and say, if we act this way, if we play to the cheap seats, we’ll get a few more people here, a few more people there.
I think this show is, you know, is a good example of how you play the long game. And it ends up working out well for you. And Fox News in those type of reports are playing the long game. They’re actually on the side of history. They’re on the side of truth. They’re on the side of American democracy. And long after this sugar high has passed us, and we’re a couple months away from this, people who report the news and the facts like that are going to be the ones who are looking great, and those chasing the sugar high are going to be left behind and considered jokes.
It’s happened — God, I've seen it happen so many times in Washington. I've seen it happen so many times in news. It’s going to happen again here, and that sort of report is the sort of report that Fox News, I’m sure they are proud of it, should be proud of it.
WILLIE GEIST: Yeah, I mean, I know that the bar is low for courage these days, but we ought to say her name again, KristIn fisher. Because, for people who don’t understand, to go on Fox News and to do what she did just there, what you saw, to systematically, point by point, refute with facts the party line from Donald Trump and from Rudy Giuliani and from unfortunately now officially the Republican Party because that was an RNC event takes actual courage.
I mean, I’m sure she’s getting crap for it, I’m sure she’ll be criticized by some people on her own air, but that’s how you do it. And as you say, there are people now across that network who are telling the truth even on their morning show. You had somebody said, hey, it might be time to move on here, Mr. President. You had a primetime host last night just bewildered by the spectacle we saw with Rudy Giuliani and those other attorneys, saying where’s the evidence?
So will always be people there, and we know who they all are, who will stand by President Trump. But there are enough on Fox News right now. And it is important — I say courage, but it’s also important to speak to that audience and to say, guys, here are the facts about what’s going on. And that this is all a complete diversion.
