By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 12:46:49 | Updated at 2024-11-18 14:33:50
1 hour ago
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have revealed they visited president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend.
The Morning Joe stars said on Monday they traveled 'personally' to meet with Trump on Friday in order to 'restart communications and set a 'new approach' ahead of his second term.
Brzezinski said they decided to reach out to Trump for 'the opportunity to speak with the President-elect, himself' because their viewers and 'regular citizens' have expressed fear following Trump's election and his recent cabinet selections.
'On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,' Brzezinski said as she opened the show Monday.
Scarborough continued, saying the three 'talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets.'
Trump and the Morning Joe stars have had a contentious relationship since the Republican entered politics - with Scarborough leaving the Republican party as a result.
Unsurprisingly, Scarborough shared that they and Trump 'didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so.'
Brzezinski revealed the last time the hosts spoke to Trump was in March of 2020 - other than when Scarborough called him after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the summer.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have revealed they visited president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend
Scarborough shared that they and Trump 'didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so'
Defending their decision, Brzezinski said: 'For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back – why wouldn’t we?'
She added: 'My father [diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski] often spoke with world leaders with whom he and the United States profoundly disagreed...That's a task shared by reporters and commentators alike....
'Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.'
Brzezinski shared that Trump was cheerful during their meeting and seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats.
However, Scarborough concluded by telling viewers they will not stop their criticism of the president-elect.
'Don’t be mistaken, he said. 'We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.
'We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.'
