Radio host Charlamagne Tha God and former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said the "Morning Joe" co-hosts' controversial visit to the estate of President-elect Donald Trump was nothing more than a play for ratings.
MSNBC co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, two of Trump's fiercest critics in the media, revealed on Monday they had a face-to-face meeting last week with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago, saying it was an important opportunity for those who disagree to speak with each other.
Haley spoke about the incident on an episode of her SiriusXM show, "Nikki Haley Live," that will be released in full on Wednesday, November 27, at 8 a.m. ET.
"Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough tore me up when I said anything about voting for Donald Trump or what I agreed with him on, even though I criticized him when I thought he was wrong. I praised him when I thought he was good. They tore me up," Haley said of the duo before their abrupt about-face.
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"But the truth is, it's not that they suddenly saw the light. It's that they saw the ratings," Haley suggested as Charlamagne chuckled and agreed. "I mean, let's be clear. They saw the ratings tank and they realized, 'Oh, we better get on with Donald Trump or else we're not going to have a show.'"
"It's a ratings and revenue game," Charlamagne said. "What I don't understand is, if you don't like something that somebody's saying, if you don't like something that somebody's doing, why not go talk to that person about it and challenge them right then and there?"
He added that the Democrats, some of whom have complained they need their own liberal media, could start changing their game plan by simply appearing on the platforms they criticize.
"That's why I think the biggest issue is, even now, when I see all of these liberals, they're having these conversations about, ‘Oh, the left needs a Joe Rogan’ or ‘The left needs a conservative network like the right has.’ It's like, no, how about, grow some balls and go on these platforms? How about, go talk to Joe Rogan?" he said.
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Charlamagne added further that there is one Democrat who appears to be ahead of the curve on this tactic.
"When you look at what Governor Newsom is doing right now, I think it's a smart strategy. Like, you know, he's not my favorite candidate, right? Or anybody that I'm looking to support at this moment. But I like his media strategy," Charlamagne said, suggesting that by going on news outlets like Fox News, Newsom is "meeting people where they are. And I think that's what a lot of these politicians aren't doing. At least the Democratic politicians, they're not meeting people where they are."
The news about the Trump-Scarborough-Brzezinski meeting set off a firestorm on the left, with MSNBC staffers lashing out at the co-hosts.
"Cowardice," one MSNBC employee reacted to Fox News Digital. "Doing exactly what [anti-Trump historian] Tim Snyder warns on our air not to do: obey in advance. It’s disgusting but frankly unsurprising."
The source said MSNBC's rank and file are now "largely disdainful" of the network's morning stars, saying it "feels like they are just opportunistic."
Trump, meanwhile, described the meeting as "extremely cordial."
"I received a call from Joe Scarborough requesting a meeting for him and Mika, and I agreed that it would be a good thing if such a meeting took place," Trump told Fox News Digital. "Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication … In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago.
"The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future," he added.
