Joe Scarborough says Trump is a 'would-be dictator' who wants to arrest journalists
MSNBC host says President Trump would arrest journalists if given the power.
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” namesake Joe Scarborough declared on Wednesday that “would-be dictator” President Trump would arrest journalists and send them to prison if he felt he could get away with it.
Scarborough was angry about news surrounding Roger Stone and Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman and lashed out at Republicans who support Trump as a result. On Tuesday, four prosecutors withdrew from their posts after senior leaders at the Justice Department said they would take the extraordinary step of overruling the prosecutors' judgment by seeking a lesser sentence for Stone.
Meanwhile, Trump on Tuesday also suggested that the Pentagon should review the conduct of Vindman, a former White House national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats’ impeachment case and potentially consider disciplinary action against him.
Scarborough believes that Trump needs to be reined in.
“Trump has to be shown that there are boundaries,” Scarborough said. “Our constitutional republic, literally, and the institutions in it, literally, are being challenged every single day by this would-be dictator. Let me say, that sounds tough, doesn’t it? You tell me.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed, saying, “That’s the word I was going to use,” as Scarborough ramped up his rhetoric.
President Donald Trump holds up a newspaper with the headline that reads "Trump acquitted" during the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast, at the Washington Hilton, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
“Would Donald Trump not do whatever he could do if he could get away with it? Seriously,” Scarborough continued. “If he could arrest every journalist he didn’t like, if he could arrest us tomorrow? Let me ask you a question: do you think he would arrest us tomorrow? Do you think he would arrest the editor of the New York Times, the editor of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos? Do you think he would arrest them tomorrow and throw them in jail to silence them?”
Brzezinski nodded, adding “If he felt like it.”
Scarborough said anyone who doesn’t believe Trump would arrest journalists is “just lying to yourself.”
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“He will get away with whatever he can get away with and he did this yesterday,” Scarborough said. “He did it because you Republican Senators gave him a blank check.”
Critics said Scarborough should calm down.
“Don't flatter yourself, Joe. You ain't that important,” NewsBusters contributing editor Mark Finkelstein wrote when recapping the segment.
“Here we are, the day after the New Hampshire primary, where every candidate sought to top the other in savaging Trump. And in a media environment where the MSM has been pouring out poison on the president since the day he announced his candidacy. Yet all remain free to walk the earth, spilling their venomous spleens,” Finkelstein added.
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