NewsBusters readers know that Joe Scarborough has the braggadocious habit of mentioning his former congressman status at every possible opportunity. They're also aware that Scarborough, whom we've dubbed Muy Macho Joe, likes to brag about what a tough a hombre he is.
Scarborough earned that moniker back in 2023 by bragging that if he ever saw a Capitol tourist snapping a photo somewhere Joe didn't like, he'd say: "Put the camera down or I'm gonna make you eat it. I would slap the camera out of his hand." Dirty Harry was a wimp in comparison.
On Wednesday's Morning Joe, Scarborough seized as a two-fer on the result in yesterday's judicial election in Wisconsin, in which the Democrat won despite Elon Musk campaigning in the state and donating heavily to the Republican candidate.
Scarborough not only dragged his former congressman status into the conversation, he also bragged about how tough he was when Republican leaders threatened to campaign against him when he took votes they didn't like.
As Scarborough described his display of extreme machismo. There's only one major problem. Does anyone actually remember the national GOP establishment opposing Scarborough in the 1994 primary, when he ran as a rock-ribbed conservative?
I had the Republicans doing everything they could to beat me in 1994. And I won.
And so, I get up there, and I start voting in ways they don't want me to vote, and they threaten me. And at one point, I had a member of leadership say, if you, you know, if you don't go this way, Scarborough, we're going to, and I cut him off.
I go, what, come into my district? Please come into my district. I won by 62% the first time you did. Come in again, and I'll win by 75%, and I turned around and walked off.
That is one tough dude. Shades of a brave gunslinger turning his back on his rival! Hollywood might well be tempted to cast Joe as Wyatt Earp in a remake of Gunfight at the OK Corral. Scarborough did win easily in his first two races, after Democrats had long held that seat. But don't buy he was some courageous Lisa Murkowski wannabe. The New York Times reported "Mr. Scarborough, 31, ran an energetic campaign with extensive support from religious conservatives."
Beyond boasting about his toughness, Scarborough's claim was that, just as he was supposedly unafraid of people coming into his congressional district to campaign against him, today's candidates need not worry about the prospect of Musk campaigning against them.
Note: Democrats like to accuse Republicans of using foul campaign tactics. But Symone Sanders mentioned that in the Wisconsin race, Democrats ran ads calling the Republican candidate, Brad Schimel, "Knee Pads Brad." That earned a "yikes" from Scarborough.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
4/2/25
6:04 am EDTSYMONE SANDERS: So my question becomes, are the Republicans now going to release themselves from the shackles of being scared of Elon Musk jumping into their primary and spending money against them? Because if Susan Crawford can hold on against the onslaught of the money, more than $20 million, $26 million, I believe.
And she leaned into it, she said she's the one that made this race about versus her versus Elon Musk. They were literally running ads in Wisconsin calling Brad Schimel, who's a sitting judge in Waukesha County, Knee Pad Brad, right?!
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let me tell you, the -- yikes. I know, right?
SANDERS: It was bad.
SCARBOROUGH:It gets rough up there in Oshkosh.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That's rough.
SCARBOROUGH: You know, Claire McCaskill, we know how this works, right?
I mean, I had the Republicans doing everything they could to beat me in 1994. And through there -- I won.
And so, I get up there, and I start voting in ways they don't want me to vote, and they threaten me. And at one point, I had a member of leadership say, if you, you know, if you don't go this way, Scarborough, we're going to, and I cut him off.
I go, what, come into my district? Please come into my district. I won by 62% the first time you did. Come in again, and I'll win by 75%, and I turned around and walked off.
Like, it was, talk about Liberation Day. You know, this is Liberation Day for Republicans if they want to take it. They don't have to be scared of Elon Musk. They can actually do their constituents' biddings, And when he says, I'm going to come into your district, say, great! I'll win big, just like that judge up in Wisconsin.
