MS NOW political pundit and host of the “Morning Joe” program, Joe Scarborough, blew his top during a recent episode of the show while reacting to Vice President JD Vance’s defense of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, calling it “ahistoric” and “stupid.” During a recent speaking engagement, Vance said that the Watergate scandal would be nothing more than a “12-hour” news story if it happened today.
He then said the idea of such a scandal taking down an entire presidency is “crazy.” He then drew a parallel between how “the deep state took down Richard Nixon” and how President Donald Trump has been treated by government institutions. The vice president’s comments were just too much for Scarborough to handle.
“What he’s saying is ahistoric. What he’s saying is stupid,” Scarborough ranted. “That is defining deviancy down. That’s trying to say, ‘Listen, what we’re doing now, it’s not bad, just like Nixon and Watergate!’ Let’s just be really clear here: The Vice President of the United States just said that the deep state went after Nixon. No. Richard Nixon used the deep state to go after political enemies, just like, well, your administration, Mr. Vice President.”
“They not only broke into the DNC, they broke into doctors’ offices, into psychiatrists’ offices, trying to get people’s most private, intimate records. They had an enemies list. They tapped lines,” Scarborough went on to say of Nixon’s administration, adding, “This is what JD Vance says is normal.” According to a report from The Wrap, Scarborough then asked, “That deep state comment? So stupid. Where did you go to school, man?”
“Did you really get a degree from Yale?” he asked. Scarborough’s co-host, Mika Brzezinski, who he is also married to, attempted to shift the focus of the segment to a different topic, but Scarborough quickly brought everything back around to Vance and his defense of Nixon. “I’m not ready to let this go,” Scarborough stated.
“I grew up in a family of Nixon supporters. My father was a big Nixon supporter up until the very end. He thought the media and the East Coast establishment was after him, up until the very end when he turned on Nixon because he understood just how horrible everything he had done was,” the host continued. Richard Haass, a former administration official for former President George W. Bush, joined the conversation.
“I think the difference between Nixon and Trump is actually important. Richard Nixon, however flawed he was, was basically a conservative,” Haass explained. “The contrast today? We don’t have a conservative in the White House. We have a radical. We have a populist. We have someone who puts himself, in most instances, before the country, and that is a fundamental difference.”
"*" indicates required fields
According to a report from CNN, Vance stated during the speaking engagement, “I think that his historical legacy is enjoying a bit of a renaissance — but I think deservedly so. As I joked … backstage, if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. Like, the idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.” Conservatives have pointed out that the comment was clearly said in jest, as Vance himself clearly states.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video