What Does MSNBC Pulling 'Morning Joe' Mean For Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid?
Viewers of MSNBC noticed a vivid change in programming on Monday morning: a news program.
MSNBC decided not to air its flagship morning show "Morning Joe" in the wake of the attempted assassination attempt of President Trump.
According to a report from CNN, the parent company NBC feared the show "might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole."
"A person familiar with the matter told CNN that the decision was made to avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole," details the report.
"Given the breaking news nature of the story, the person said, it made more sense to continue airing rolling breaking news coverage in the fraught political moment."
Specifically, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde made the decision to pull the show from airing in consultation with MSNBC president Rashida Jones.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 28: Joe Scarborough speaks at the Global Citizen NOW Summit at The Glasshouse on April 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
The attempted assassination of Trump is the most significant news story since 9/11. The ratings for all cable news could approach record highs on Monday. And yet, NBC admitted it could not trust the faces of its cable news morning show to conduct the news responsibly.
Joe Scarborough is arguably the face of MSNBC, with Rachel Maddow limiting her appearance to just once a week. Surely, this decision won't sit well with him and his fragile ego.
MSNBC has not specified its programming plans for the rest of the day on Monday. Unlike Fox News and CNN, the network does not air news programs in the daytime or evening. MSNBC decided in 2022 by removing "Meet the Press Daily" from the lineup that it was best suited to airing wall-to-wall opinion programming.
Insert partisans like Jen Psaki.
The lineup for MSNBC only grows more radical after the morning. Notably, 7 pm host Joy Reid recently uploaded a deranged rant on social media in which she referred to Trump as "Hitler."
Primetime hosts Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O'Donnell won't exactly strike anyone as responsible journalists, either – particularly as it pertains to Donald Trump.
OutKick asked MSNBC how it plans to handle its primetime lineup on Monday amid its decision to pull "Morning Joe" from the air. The network did not respond. We will update this story if we receive a comment.
The plan is for "Morning Joe" to return on Tuesday with regular contributors like Al Sharpton.