Viewers wonder if the cast of Morning Joe was fired after the Monday morning episode was pulled following an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Morning Joe is a morning news talk show that airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on MSNBC.
It features former United States Representative Joe Scarborough, co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, and a rotating panel of recurring and special guests discussing the day's news.
However, MSNBC did not air Morning Joe on Monday, July 15, opting for continued coverage of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
After a CNN inquiry, the network confirmed the decision to preempt its top-rated morning show, stating it would resume on Tuesday. A source told CNN that the decision was made to avoid inappropriate comments from guests during the sensitive news coverage.
Did Morning Joe's Cast Get Fired?
Despite the confusion and speculation, the cast of Morning Joe has not been fired as of yet and returned to the show on Tuesday, July 16.
However, Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough expressed surprise and disappointment (via The Hollywood Reporter) after NBC leadership pulled his show Monday for rolling news coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Opening the show with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, Scarborough revealed their frustration, stating they were informed there would "be one news feed across all NBC news channels," but that plan didn't happen, and they were "not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen:"
"We were told in no uncertain terms on Sunday evening that there was going to be one news feed across all NBC news channels yesterday… that was going to be one news feed across all NBC news channels, that we were going to stay as a network in breaking news mode throughout all day yesterday, that did not happen. We don’t know why that was that didn’t happen, our team, was not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen. But it didn’t happen."
Scarborough suggested the decision to remove Morning Joe was reversed due to "such a strong blowback" about Monday's show:
"We were also told it was going to happen throughout the day, and I guess, after there was such a strong blowback about yesterday morning, I guess they changed their plans. We were very surprised, we were very disappointed."
Morning Joe's Cancellation Speculation Explained
On the Tuesday, July 16 Morning Joe program, some viewers may have misinterpreted Scarborough's statement as a threat to quit if the situation happens again.
During the statement, where he declared his disappointment with being canceled on Monday, Scarborough confirmed that next time a news feed will be replacing their show, "[they] will be in [their] chairs:"
"Next time we're told there's going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs. The newsfeed will be us, or they can get somebody else to host the show."
While some took this quote as a sign of possibly quitting, it appears more likely that Scarborough and his co-hosts are committed to maintaining their positions unless fired.
According to Page Six, MSNBC stated it would not tone down its coverage of Donald Trump after pulling Morning Joe, despite staff frustration over the decision.
A spokesperson denied any directive to soften coverage, noting that hosts Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, and Nicole Wallace will continue their critical reporting during the Republican National Convention this week.
Morning Joe airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on MSNBC.
