President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. is demanding an apology from Joe Scarborough, after the MSNBC host described the president as a ‘“far graver threat” to American freedom than the radical Islamists who carried out 9/11.
The comments came in an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, the 17th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon which claimed the lives of almost 3,000 Americans.
Noting how citizens came together after 9/11, Scarborough pointed to the decisions to invade Afghanistan and Iraq in the years that followed, disastrous policies that he argued culminated in Trump’s abandonment of American values—citing the president’s travel ban against Muslims and retweeting of neo-Nazis.
“Sixteen years of strategic missteps have been followed by the maniacal moves of a man who has savaged America’s vital alliances, provided comfort to hostile foreign powers, attacked our intelligence and military communities, and lent a sympathetic ear to neo-Nazis and white supremacists across the globe,” the former Republican congressman-turned-media-personality wrote.
“For those of us still believing that Islamic extremists hate America because of the freedoms we guarantee to all people,” he continued, “the gravest threat Trump poses to our national security is the damage done daily to America’s image.”
Scarborough reiterated his position on his show Morning Joe.
“Forget about knocking down buildings in the Financial District, forget about running planes into the Pentagon,” he said. “Those are tragedies, but those tragedies bring us closer together.”
The comments drew criticism online, most notably from the president’s own son who demanded an apology be issued to the victims of the attacks.
Joe you owe an apology to the 3000+ families who lost loved ones on this tragic day. Injecting politics today is disgraceful and only shows how irrelevant and deranged you’ve become. https://t.co/tFncxA5CQT
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 11, 2018
Scarborough’s co-host rushed to his defense, taking aim at Trump Jr. over a 2016 meeting with Russian nationals promising compromising material on Hillary Clinton.
Don.. The clock is ticking. Must be stressful. Maybe take a nap and relax. Have some chamomile tea or something. Maybe a quick trip to Russia to collect more cash for your business? https://t.co/RMJ7VQLqMN
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) September 11, 2018
By this stage, however, conservatives were piling on Scarborough over his column.
Shameless: Joe Scarborough Uses 9/11 To Bash Trump, Calls Him More ‘Damaging’ https://t.co/JtyAfj2Y6N
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) September 11, 2018
Joe Scarborough irl pic.twitter.com/VP3F82JjQt
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 11, 2018
Please control yourself. This is an appalling insult to the memory of victims and survivors of 9/11. https://t.co/hLDlE85Em8
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 11, 2018
In one fairly sharp comment on Scarborough’s Trump-9/11 take, journalist Ben Howe reminded the Morning Joe host of his famously soft stance against the presidential hopeful on the 2016 campaign trail.
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/1039472915312533504
The pair had a very public break-up when Trump blasted “Psycho Joe” in one of several vicious and personal tweets.
Late Tuesday, Scarborough tweeted that “many have been offended” by his piece and that he should have “shown more care” in writing his column’s conclusion, which he argued had been ripped out of context by Trump supporters seeking to score partisan goals.
Jeryl, you’re a great example for all of us—especially me today. Many have been offended by a tweet I sent out earlier re: my @washingtonpost article. Even if they did not read the article, I should have shown more care on the tweet’s wording and the column’s conclusion. https://t.co/A7zJR38JiC
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018
The column was focused on 17 years of strategic missteps. The last paragraph became the sole focus of Trump supporters. On every other day of the year, I do not shy away from negative feedback from the right, the left or from Trump supporters.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018