An MSNBC guest ignited a back-and-forth with the “Morning Joe” crew after Mika Brzezinski apologized for his on-air dig at Fox News.
The show’s co-host accused The Atlantic’s David Frum of making a comment that “was a little too flippant” about Fox News, prompting the political commentator to fire back with an article calling out the “chill of intimidation” in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
The issue began with a discussion about former Fox News host Pete Hegseth who Trump nominated as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth, a military veteran, has been dogged with allegations of sexual misconduct and claims about drinking which he has denied. In a “Morning Joe” segment on Wednesday, Frum weighed in.
“Well, just given what one sees on camera, if you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed,” the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
Journalist David Frum said “if you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed” on Morning Joe today.
This prompted co-host Mika Brzezinski to give an apology to Fox News later in the show.
We don’t dislike the media enough. pic.twitter.com/yuyX379eUL
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) December 5, 2024
Later in the show, Brzezinski referred back to the segment to offer an apology to viewers.
“And before we go to break or a little bit earlier in this block, there was a comment made about Fox News in our coverage about Pete [Hegseth] and the growing number of allegations about his behavior over the years and possible addiction to alcohol or issues with alcohol,” she said.
“The comment was a little too flippant for this moment that we’re in. We just want to make that comment as well. We want to make that clear. We have differences in coverage with Fox News, and that’s a good debate that we should have often,” she added. “But right now, I just want to say there’s a lot of good people that work at Fox News who care about Pete Hegseth, and we want to leave it at that.”
VIDEO – Mika Brzezinski Apologizes On-Air for the ‘Little Too Flippant’ Remarks David Frum Made About Fox News https://t.co/ZBPg58AVwl
— Grabien (@GrabienMedia) December 4, 2024
Brzezinski, along with co-host and husband Joe Scarborough, set off a wave of criticism last month when they traveled to Trump’s home in Florida in the wake of his election victory.
Frum responded to the on-air comments about his remarks, taking to The Atlantic to write a piece titled, “The Sound of Fear on Air.”
“It is an ominous sign that Morning Joe felt it had to apologize for something I said,” the subhead declared.
“Now NBC is up for sale by Comcast, with the future of the liberal MSNBC network very much in question. The hosts of Morning Joe visited Mar-a-Lago in November to mend fences with Trump. They genuinely have a lot to worry about,” Frum wrote after recapping the episode and noting the current state of things at MSNBC.
“As for my own comments: You can decide for yourself whether I overstepped the proper limits of television discussion. But I also note that if I did misstep, well, my face was on the screen, my name was on the chyron, and anyone who took offense knows whom to blame,” he continued.
“It is a very ominous thing if our leading forums for discussion of public affairs are already feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease,” Frum wrote.
He predicted he would not be welcomed back at the network, writing, “I write these words very aware that I’m probably saying goodbye forever to a television platform that I enjoy and from which I have benefited as both viewer and guest. I have been the recipient of personal kindnesses from the hosts that I have not forgotten.”
“I do not write to scold anyone; I write because fear is infectious. Let it spread, and it will paralyze us all. The only antidote is courage. And that’s infectious, too,” he concluded.
Richard Hudock, an MSNBC communications supervisor responded to Frum in a statement.
Joe and Mika have consistently expressed their strong reservations and perspectives regarding Pete Hegseth’s nomination from the very beginning, and that stance remains unchanged.
We would have responded in the same manner regardless of when these comments were made or what news…
— Richard Hudock (@richardhudock) December 4, 2024
“Joe and Mika have consistently expressed their strong reservations and perspectives regarding Pete Hegseth’s nomination from the very beginning, and that stance remains unchanged. We would have responded in the same manner regardless of when these comments were made or what news organization was referenced,” he said, inviting Frum to return to the show to discuss the issue.
These are just allegations, and that is all they are. The left loves to destroy opponents with allegations of drinking, sexual harassment, and other lies. They cannot fight the man’s record, so the left uses their forte ( personal smears) and the media repeats the “words” of the week!