In an absurd display of hypocrisy, Joe Scarborough prefaced his anti-Republican rant Friday morning by piously proclaiming that he has avoided politicizing the Ukraine crisis.
Scarborough then proceeded to unleash on Republicans in general, some unnamed Republican senators in particular, and an unnamed but obviously targeted Donald Trump.
Scarborough began by claiming that some Republican senators are pushing Biden "to do things that would trigger World War III." That was presumably a reference to the call that Ted Cruz and other Republican senators have made to permit the transfer of MIG fighter jets to Ukraine, allowing it to establish a no-fly zone.
Scarborough then turned to a very thinly-veiled attack on Trump, saying that what Biden has achieved in uniting Europe could not achieved:
By some president going over to Europe and pushing people out of the way so he could be in the front when the picture's taken of the group, or attacking the woman who was leading Germany, or attacking the woman who was leading Great Britain. Going after our allies constantly, while cuddling up to tyrants across the globe [mentioning Putin and Xi.]
As with the unnamed Republican senators, Scarborough coyly declined to name Trump, but his target was unmistakable.
Scarborough then mocked Republicans' "stupid little populist playbook," which made it hard for them to accept that Biden's supposed experience permitted him to achieve European unity.
In an unwitting paradox, Scarborough also accused Republicans of potentially being "pro-Putin apologists." Wait a second! The same senators who would trigger WWIII by giving Ukraine fighter jets to shoot down Putin's planes are also Putin apologists? Decide on your slur and stick with it, Joe!
Scarborough ended by denouncing Republican "jackasses" in the Senate whom he accused of trying to score political points and playing to the "cheap seats." He sought to stir curiosity by saying, "boy, I really want to say one senator's name. I'm just not going to do it." Whereas it seemed pretty obvious he had Ted Cruz in mind.
If anyone was trying to score political points and play to the cheap [liberal] seats, it was a certain Morning Joe host -- whom we will not name!
On Morning Joe, Scarborough saying he hasn't politicized the Ukraine crisis but then attacking Republicans who have criticized Biden was sponsored in part by Celebrity Cruises.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
3/18/22
7:10 am ETJOE SCARBOROUGH: I will say though, Mika, and I've tried very hard not, not to bring politics into this at all over the past several weeks. I've been trumpeting the bipartisanship. But just following up on what Noah said there, I'm not going to name any names, because actually I don't even want to dignify their remarks. But there are some Republicans, some Republican senators out there, that are trying to turn this into a political hit job against Joe Biden.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yes!
SCARBOROUGH: And they're pushing him to do things that would trigger World War III . . . And guess what's happened over the past 23 days? You now have a Germany that's done something never done before since World War II. They're now committing to building a bigger military than Russia! That is game changing. That is a generational change. Sweden and Finland, talking about getting into NATO. That is a generational change, a generational change! You look at other countries that are asking us to bring NATO troops into their country, to provide them more defense. A generational change.
And how did it happen? It didn't happen by some president going over to Europe and pushing people out of the way so he could be in the front when the picture's taken of the group, or attacking the woman who was leading Germany, or attacking the woman who was leading Great Britain. Going after our allies constantly, while cuddling up to tyrants across the globe. Vladimir Putin, saying, yes, I trust actually you more than I trust our own intel agents who risk their lives every day for American democracy and American freedom. Or, yes, Xi, please, go ahead and build those concentration camps, that sounds great.
No, that's not how we built this historic coalition. We built the historic coalition by Joe Biden's patience and, oh, my God. Oh, I know this is going to be shocking to you, because it doesn't fit into your stupid little populist playbook, with Joe Biden's experience . . . And even if you believe he's gotten most things wrong throughout his career, you really have to be a sickened either pro-Putin apologist, or, if you're not apologizing for Vladimir Putin, you're just a right-wing Republican ideologue, to be attacking him and saying he's responsible for Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine.
. . .
You have jackasses in the United States Senate trying to gain cheap political points. Hey! Can you just wait until the specter of nuclear war and World War III are beyond us?
MIKA: Exactly!
SCARBOROUGH: And then go back and make your cheap political points then? Because you really--this is sickening.
MIKA: This is not the time.
SCARBOROUGH: This is the wrong time, okay? Wait! . . . This is not the time -- boy, I really want to say one senator's name. I'm just not going to do it.
MIKA: Just don't, yeah.
SCARBOROUGH Because he just--it's just not worth it. This is not the time to play for the cheap seats.
