Additional Coverage:
- Viewers continue to bolt from Morning Joe amid fallout over hosts ‘kissing the ring’ at Mar-a-Lago (newsbreak.com)
MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ Viewership Plummets After Hosts’ Trump Meeting
MSNBC viewers are deserting “Morning Joe” after hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with then-President-elect Donald Trump. The show’s ratings have nosedived at a critical time as parent company Comcast prepares to spin off its cable channels.
On Tuesday, “Morning Joe” drew only 680,000 viewers, a 12% drop from Monday. The viewership in the key demographic of adults aged 25-54 fell by 37% compared to the average for 2024.
The decline began when Scarborough and Brzezinski announced their meeting with Trump, despite previously criticizing him. Critics accused the hosts of “obeisance” and being “double agents.”
Despite the backlash, Scarborough and Brzezinski have downplayed the criticism. However, sources say they feared retaliation from Trump’s administration, particularly after Matt Gaetz was nominated as attorney general.
MSNBC’s overall ratings have also declined since Trump’s election, with last week marking the network’s lowest ratings in 25 years in the key demographic. The move to spin off cable channels has left employees, including Scarborough and Brzezinski, uncertain about their future.