Despite not having a medical degree between the three of them, Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, and Willie Geist had very strong professional opinions on Tuesday morning about how poorly the White House Medical Unit has handled President Trump’s battle with the coronavirus.
Seeming to lament the President's improving condition after leaving Walter Reed Monday evening, the trio wailed that his doctor must be lying. Associated Press White House reporter Jonathan Lemire regretfully told the hosts: “He’s not expected to spend any time soon in the Oval Office or over in the West Wing, but his doctor said, yesterday, Dr. Conley, that he wouldn’t be restricting the President either.”
As Lemire went on to speculate about Trump’s condition based on what information Dr. Conley did not tell reporters, Brzezinski decided that juvenile name-calling was not beneath her: “This doctor was less than honest. He was the worst liar out there I have ever seen, quite frankly. Dr. McShady!”
But Brzezinski wasn’t done lambasting Dr. Conley. As if she were an expert regarding medical ethics, she proclaimed that the President’s doctor has a duty to publicly disagree with him:
Because honestly, any honest doctor would say, ‘he's leaving the hospital today, he's not out of the woods yet. We disagree with his decision to leave but we will support him medically as best we can and then we will make sure that there is a transition to a good medical situation at the White House. But we actually do not think he should be leaving a hospital situation and walking around without a mask.’
Wondering why in the world any physician would not loudly echo the talking points of the leftist media, Geist added: “But if you’re a doctor, you don’t have to get re-elected. What’s the cost of telling the truth? (...) If the president fires you, okay, you go back to your job with the respect of other doctors and of your colleagues.” Does the Hippocratic Oath require medical professionals to be liberal activists? Evidently so.
Toward the end of the show, as Pete Buttigieg was promoting his new book, the former Democratic presidential candidate helpfully parroted their talking points:
I'm especially troubled by this week's news. I mean think about the way it feels wondering whether you can trust the President's doctor to be telling us the truth, right? I mean, he represents the White House, the military, and medicine. Three of the institutions we should be most able to trust in moments of crisis, and yet Americans are wondering whether we can believe anything we're hearing about the President's condition, when the President was diagnosed, and it speaks to that bigger problem.
Scarborough remarked that “[A] doctor has a responsibility to not lie to the American people and the world.” Apparently, journalists are held to much lower standards.
This shameless attack on medical professionals was sponsored by Chevrolet, USAA, and The Farmer's Dog. Click on the links and tell them how you feel about their role in this.
Read the transcript below:
Morning Joe
10/6/20
6:14:49 AM
JONATHAN LEMIRE: He is still walking around shedding the virus and is now exposing people in the White House to it. Now, they're converting a few rooms in the residence to office space. He's not expected to spend any time soon in the Oval Office or over in the West Wing, but his doctor said yesterday, Dr. Conley, that he wouldn't be restricting the President either. The President would have freedom of movement. And it’s also key, we should focus on what the doctor didn't say yesterday. Though he gave out his vitals and said that the President had been fever-free for a few days, though, however, the steroid he is on can knock down fevers, he would not reveal the President's lung scans, citing privacy concerns, citing HIPAA. Even though he freely offered other pieces of medical information which raised the question why if he was perhaps only sharing the good news and not the bad. So there are still a lot of uncertainty about the President's lungs. There's also uncertainty about this. The doctor and the White House have steadfastly refused to note when the President's last negative test was. We know the first positive test was upon his return from Bedminster on Thursday, but it's not clear when he was tested previously. How long perhaps was he positive? And exposing people to the virus. Was he not tested Thursday morning before going to Bedminster, or perhaps it wasn’t even Wednesday morning before Minnesota, or maybe even Tuesday before the debate.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: And that, Jonathan, right there is irresponsible on the doctor's part. Americans deserve to know and the people who have been around the President including his opponent, Vice President Joe Biden, and his family, they have all been near President Trump for the debate. And when he first tested positive is a key question. This doctor was less than honest. He was the worst liar out there I have ever seen, quite frankly. Dr. McShady!
JOE SCARBOROUGH: That’s saying a lot.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, it is saying a lot given this presidency.
SCARBOROUGH: Ronny Jackson.
BRZEZINSKI: I know, but clearly he gets—
SCARBOROUGH [IN BACKGROUND]: Pretty effective… liar… big liar
BRZEZINSKI: --under President Trump’s sort of spell, and he refuses to do his actual duty, as—
SCARBOROUGH: Wait! You know, where do these doctors, I’m just curious, Willie, where do these doctors go next, after—
BRZEZINSKI: Lying.
SCARBOROUGH: -they have lied in one of the most important events in recent history—
BRZEZINSKI: Because honestly, any honest doctor would say he's leaving the hospital today, he's not out of the woods yet. We disagree with his decision to leave but we will support him medically as best we can and then we will make sure that there is a transition to a good medical situation at the White House. But we actually do not think he should be leaving a hospital situation and walking around without a mask.
SCARBOROUGH: And especially, since Willie, it's one thing if you're just dealing with a patient and the patient's own privacy concerns, but when you're dealing with somebody that has spread this infection to some of the top leaders in America and the world and is now going back to the scene of that crime to do it again, a doctor has a responsibility to not lie to the American people and the world. Or even to the secret service agents who were -- who are moving that president around.
WILLIE GEIST: Well, it's one of the central questions of our time. What is the cost of crossing the president? If you're a Republican in congress, I guess it's you're worried about your re-election. We saw more of that last night, by the way. Senators celebrating with videos that they made. The president quote defeating COVID, embarrassing.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh my gosh.
GEIST: But if you're a doctor, you don't have to get re-elected. What's the cost of telling the truth? What's the cost of going out and sharing with the American people the president's medical condition specifically, what is the cost of that? If the president fires you, okay, you go back to your job with the respect of other doctors and of your colleagues. I don't know the answer to that question.
8:54:23 AM
PETE BUTTIGIEG: I'm especially troubled by this week's news. I mean think about the way it feels wondering whether you can trust the President's doctor to be telling us the truth, right? I mean, he represents the White House, the military, and medicine. Three of the institutions we should be most able to trust in moments of crisis and yet Americans are wondering whether we can believe anything we're hearing about the President's condition, when the President was diagnosed, and it speaks to that bigger problem.
