No fewer than six times in the opening minutes of today’s Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough furiously attacked President Trump’s White House ballroom plans, branding it the “Marie Antoinette ballroom” while contrasting it with Americans struggling to afford groceries, gas, and rent.
Scarborough raged:
“You have the president talking again about this billion dollar Marie Antoinette ballroom… It’s happening because the president wanted to create a Marie Antoinette ballroom.”
“...We got this billion-dollar Marie Antoinette ballroom now that they’re talking about funding.”
“…you’re blindly going along with a Marie Antoinette ballroom that these taxpayers who can’t afford groceries are gonna have to fund with their own tax dollars.”
Joe Scarborough's Meltdown: “Marie Antoinette Ballroom!” (x6) pic.twitter.com/xSjhiJLo9j
— Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) May 20, 2026
He continued to hammer the phrase repeatedly, tying it to broader attacks on Republican priorities and a “slush fund” that could be used to remunerate January 6 defendants. It all sounds like he's reading from a Democrat direct-mail fundraising appeal. "Send in your 25 smackers to fight off the Marie Antoinette Ballroom today!"
Note in the painting, the guy doing his best Kathy Griffin imitation — proudly holding up the severed head. Was Scarborough slyly doing his Queen of Hearts impression?
The historical parallel Scarborough invited is unmistakable: Marie Antoinette’s reputation for extravagance amid public hardship was followed by the French Revolution’s bloody climax -- and her bloody end.
Liberal media figures have spent years accusing Donald Trump of inciting violence with rhetoric. Yet here was Scarborough on national television hammering a luxury-versus-the-people narrative straight out of 1789 France.
This is the same Morning Joe that routinely lectures about “dangerous” conservative speech. Perhaps someone should ask Scarborough exactly what kind of latter-day Jacobins he’s trying to stir up with his inflammatory analogy.
Note: Scarborough claimed the ballroom isn't necessary because we have "security, facilities," to keep the president safe. Like at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, ya mean?
Here's the transcript.
MS NOW
Morning Joe
5/20/26
6:01 am EDTJOE SCARBOROUGH: Mika, this is just, again, it's just so extraordinarily outrageous. You have the president talking again about this billion dollar Marie Antoinette ballroom that, we, we, it was perfectly fine.
We had, we had security, we had facilities to keep the president secure, and then he tore down the, the, the, the East Wing, said, 'Oh, it's not gonna cost anything,' now it's gonna cost over a billion dollars. They can say it's for security, but it's happening because the president wanted to create a Marie Antoinette ballroom.
And now, on top of that, while people are struggling to pay their groceries, the people are struggling to put gas in their cars, people are struggling to pay their rent — we got this billion-dollar Marie Antoinette ballroom now that they're talking about funding.
. . .
You've just got to say, with all time low, hey, Republicans, listen, you have all time low approval ratings! You are getting wiped out by Democrats in, in every poll that's coming out, and you're blindly going along with a Marie Antoinette ballroom that these taxpayers who can't afford groceries are gonna have to fund with their own tax dollars.. . .
Good morning, America. I hope you're doing well, because I will tell you Republicans in Congress aren't doing well. If they sit back and allow this slush fund to move forward like they're allowing the Marie Antoinette ballroom to move forward.
. . .
This war that nobody really wanted, that the overwhelming majority of Americans are against just billions and billions and billions of dollars.
And the president, Mika, as I said yesterday, he could go out and explain this instead of just like, you know, ranting in front of a microphone, he can sit down and have a speech and talk about the dangers of a nuclear Iran and the sacrifices it'll take. He won't, he just won't do it.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: No, he's talking about the ballroom. He's got his plans --
SCARBOROUGH: He'll talk about the Marie Antoinette ballroom.
