| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Presented by | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Alex Korson[1] |
| Producer | Mike Buczkiewicz(senior producer)[1] |
| Production locations |
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| Running time | 240 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | April 9, 2007 (2007-4-9) – present |
| Related | |
| Scarborough Country Morning Joe First Look | |
Morning Joe is an American morning news talk show, which airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.Eastern Time on the cable news channelMSNBC. It features formerUS Representative (Independent)Joe Scarborough reporting and discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hostsMika Brzezinski (whom Scarborough married in November 2018),[2]Willie Geist, who regularly co-hosts from Tuesdays to Fridays, andJonathan Lemire, along with recurring and special guests.
Morning Joe began as a fill-in program afterDon Imus'Imus in the Morning was canceled in April 2007. Former Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough, then host of the primetime MSNBC programScarborough Country, suggested the idea of doing a morning show instead.[3] He put together what would becomeMorning Joe withScarborough Country executive producerChris Licht and screenwriterJohn Ridley. The pun in the show's title is echoed by a coffee ring in its logo.[4] On April 9, 2007, the show debuted as one of a series of rotating programs auditioning for Imus's former slot, with Scarborough joined by co-hostsMika Brzezinski and Ridley.[5][6] Scarborough had personally asked Brzezinski to co-host with him the night before the first audition, while she was a "cut-in" presenter during MSNBC's primetime schedule on a freelance basis.[6]
Ridley quickly dropped out as main co-host but continued as a regular guest, whileWillie Geist was tapped as co-host. The program permanently took over the slot in July 2007, though the decision was not officially announced until October that year.[7]
During the first quarter of 2009,Morning Joe earned higher ratings in the age 25-54 demo category thanCNN's competing program,American Morning. It still had fewer viewers overall.[8] Both programs finished behindFox News'sFox & Friends during the same time period.
By March 2010, the show's ratings remained behind those ofFox & Friends, but surpassed its other cable competitorsAmerican Morning,Morning Express with Robin Meade, andSquawk Box.[9][10]
Morning Joe continues to regularly place second in total viewers and younger demographic toFox & Friends, ahead of other cable news competitors includingCNN'sNew Day.[11] However,Morning Joe, like MSNBC overall, ranked behind CNN's counterpart programming during short stints in 2013.[12]
Over the years, the program's focus has shifted partly towardenterprise journalism: Scarborough and Brzezinski provide exclusives from theUnited States Congress, theUS State Department, and theWhite House.[citation needed]
On May 4, 2017, an MSNBC spokesperson confirmed that Scarborough and Brzezinski were engaged to be married.[13]Their style in running the show was then parodied bySaturday Night Live withKate McKinnon andAlex Moffat.[14][15]
In May 2017, for the first time in the program's history,Morning Joe attracted an average of over 1 million daily total viewers for the month.[16]
In February 2022, MSNBC announced that the show would be extended with a fourth, 9 a.m. hour beginning April 4. The extension of the show replacesMSNBC Reports withStephanie Ruhle, after Ruhle moved to MSNBC's late-night programThe 11th Hour.[17]
On March 10, 2022, MSNBC announced that it would offer on-demand episodes of the show, among others onPeacock.[18]
During coverage of theattempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, MSNBC announced on July 14, 2024, that the show would temporarily be replaced by a simulcast ofNBC News NOW's morning show,Morning News NOW. The show returned to air the following morning.[19]
In October 2024, it was announced thatJonathan Lemire, who hosts Way Too Early, would co-host the show's 9 a.m. hour with Scarborough, Geist and Brzezinski, whileAli Vitali will take over as host as Way Too Early, with the changes taking effect in January 2025.[20][21]
A radio version debuted in December 2008, carried onWABC inNew York City (which was also carryingImus in the Morning at the time) and otherCitadel Media owned and operated stations. Scarborough and Brzezinski host this version, which also replays highlights from the day's television show. For legal reasons, this version is calledThe Joe Scarborough Show.[22] Scarborough claims that, at least on WABC, the show beat theGlenn Beck Program in the New York City radio market'sArbitron ratings.[23][24] However, despite acceptable ratings, the radio version was put on hiatus in April 2010. Scarborough intends to bring back the show in a revised three-hour version at an undisclosed time in the future.[25]
| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Morning news show |
| Starring | Ali Vitali (starting January 6, 2025 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production location | New York City |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | July 27, 2009 (2009-07-27) – August 12, 2016 (2016-08-12) |
| Release | September 21, 2020 (2020-09-21) – present |
On July 27, 2009, Willie Geist began hosting a new 30-minute show,Way Too Early. It aired on MSNBC at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time as a lead-in toMorning Joe.[26] Geist left the program in October 2012 when he began co-hosting the third hour of NBC'sToday. He is currently a co-host ofMorning Joe. The program was revived in September 2020 withKasie Hunt who left 10 months later forCNN. From October 2021 to December 2024, the program was hosted byJonathan Lemire, until he moved to Morning Joe's 9 a.m. hour. Starting on January 6, 2025, the program will be hosted byAli Vitali.
| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | News program |
| Presented by | Yasmin Vossoughian |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | 30 Rockefeller Plaza,New York City,New York |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | NBC News Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | 2004 (2004)[when?] – September 18, 2020 (2020-09-18) |
On August 8, 2016, the existing early morning programFirst Look airing at 5:00 a.m. was expanded into the former timeslot ofWay Too Early and retitledMorning Joe First Look, retaining segments from the latter program and presumably to feature some continuity withMorning Joe itself.
| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | February 11, 2023 (2023-02-11) – present |
Since February 11, 2023, MSNBC regularly airsMorning Joe: Weekend, a recap of the show's most notable moments from the week's broadcasts, every Saturday morning from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. ET. Since January 13, the show expanded to both Saturdays and Sundays.
| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | April 24, 2023 (2023-04-24) – present |
On April 17, 2023, MSNBC announced that Joe Scarborough would host a primetime special titledJoe Scarborough Presents on April 24, 2023, temporarily taking over the 8 p.m. hour ofAll In with Chris Hayes, where Scarborough interviewed PresidentJoe Biden, former PresidentBill Clinton, Former British Prime MinisterTony Blair, and former Secretary of StateHillary Clinton. On May 8, 2023, Scabrough hosted another primetime special, where he interviewed U.S. SenatorJohn Fetterman,Shonda Rhimes andTyler Perry. On July 17, 2023, Scarborough hosted a third special, where he interviewedChristopher Nolan,Cillian Murphy,Emily Blunt,Matt Damon andRobert Downey Jr..
| Morning Joe | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | January 13, 2024 (2024-01-13) – present |
On November 30, 2023, MSNBC announced a new weekend morning program hosted byMichael Steele,Symone Sanders-Townsend andAlicia Menendez titledThe Weekend that premiered on January 13, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET., following Morning Joe: Weekend's broadcast.[27]
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Regular guests and contributors include:
On January 9, 2008, the morning afterHillary Clinton's surprise victory in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, Matthews appeared on the show and said of Clinton, "I'll be brutal, the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win there on her merit."[33][34]The comments, widely reacted to as sexist and unfair, were criticized by such diverse media figures asBill O'Reilly,[33]Joy Behar,[35] andGloria Steinem.[36] They also led to protests outside NBC's Washington, D.C. studios, as well as a joint letter of complaint to NBC from theNational Organization for Women,Feminist Majority, and theNational Women's Political Caucus. Matthews apologized for the comments on the January 17, 2008, edition of his own MSNBC program,Hardball.[36]
On November 10, 2008, Scarborough read the word "fuck" on air while reading from a story about then-President-elect Obama's incomingChief of Staff,Rahm Emanuel. Once he realized his mistake, Scarborough repeatedly apologized for his slip of the tongue, and explained that he had meant to say "the F word" instead. The next day, MSNBC instituted a seven-second delay forMorning Joe.[37]
In another incident on June 29, 2011, thenTimeeditor-at-largeMark Halperin commented that the president came off as "kind of adick" during the previous day's press conference. The word aired uncensored, despite the seven-second delay, when a producer failed to press the button that would have "bleeped" it. Halperin issued an on-air apology immediately following a commercial break.[38] The White House subsequently complained to MSNBC about Halperin's remarks, and on June 30, 2011, Halperin was temporarily suspended from appearing on MSNBC for "slurring" the President. He returned as a guest a couple of weeks later.[39]
On December 30, 2008, Brzezinski's father and formerNational Security Advisor to PresidentJimmy Carter,Zbigniew Brzezinski appeared as a guest to discuss the unfoldingIsrael–Palestine crisis. Scarborough stated thatYasser Arafat was offered everything he wanted at the2000 Camp David Summit. This statement provoked Zbigniew to reply, "You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you."[40] Subsequently, the phrase "stunningly superficial" has become something of a running gag on the show.[41]
Beginning on June 1, 2009,Morning Joe was presented as "Brewed byStarbucks", with the sponsor's logo incorporated into the show's logo. Although the hosts previously consumed Starbucks coffee on air "for free", in the words of MSNBC presidentPhil Griffin, it was not paid placement at that time.[42] The Starbucks sponsorship ofMorning Joe ended in 2013.
On June 3, 2009,The Daily Show hostJon Stewart mocked the Starbucks sponsorship of the program, showing several clips of theMorning Joe cast prominently displaying and complimenting Starbucks products as well as an interview with Starbucks CEOHoward Schultz.[43] Scarborough responded that his intent in discussing the sponsorship was sarcastic, and he suggested that Stewart and his "90 writers" did not understand the joke.[44] On June 8, Stewart feigned embarrassment over missing their alleged sarcasm, claiming, "At the time, I thought your jokey manner was just a way of sublimating your shame over the discomfort you feel deep in your soul after extinguishing the last smoldering embers of any of your program's journalistic bona fides. But now, I realize that that wasn't the case!"[44] On June 9, Scarborough fired back, referring to Stewart as "a very, very angry guy with aNapoleonic complex".[45] The next day, Stewart and correspondentJohn Oliver again responded with a skit, involving Stewart impersonatingNapoleon and Oliver impersonating an even shorterArthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. After the routine, Stewart joked that he hoped that this would be the end of the feud, since continuing it was becoming expensive for the show.[46]
During theObama administration, Joe Scarborough sought to distance himself from certain elements in theRepublican Party. He criticized Republicans such asRush Limbaugh who celebrated President Obama's failed bid to bring the2016 Olympics toChicago saying that "Republicans have gone off the deep end." On the October 8, 2009 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh fired back by saying that Scarborough was "doing his best impression of [...] a neutered chickified moderate". Scarborough responded the next day onMorning Joe, faulting Limbaugh for uncritical loyalty toGeorge W. Bush during the president's tenure in office. Scarborough specifically said that Limbaugh had put his "testicles in a blind trust for George W. Bush for eight years".[47]
TheMorning Joe interview with actor and comedianRussell Brand, a segment in the episode that aired on June 17, 2013, went viral on the internet.[48] He was there to promote his forthcoming stand-up comedy tour "The Messiah Complex". After the three interviewers (host Mika Brzezinski and contributorsKatty Kay andBrian Shactman) repeatedly intercut the interview with personal observations of their guest—bantering among themselves whether they were able to understand his accent, referring to him in the third person, and calling him "Willy"—Brand protested at being talked about "as if he wasn't present and [as if he was] an extraterrestrial" before taking the interview over with a scathing commentary on what he perceived as a lack of professionalism and manners demonstrated by the interviewers. He appeared to confuse them with his direct, plain-speaking rebuke. In a final apparent attempt to offer an olive branch of humor to Brzezinski, Brand quipped "this woman is a shaft grasper" after she appeared to nervously stroke her water bottle.[49]
Early in 2016, the show and its hosts were criticized for their support to then-candidateDonald Trump;Matt Taibbi described the hosts as "lapdogs" and their relationship as "brown-nosing". The criticism was further exacerbated by ahot mic recording published byHarry Shearer on his podcast, where Scarborough and Brzezinski discuss with Trump the positive coverage of him, and the possible questions the candidate could get in their upcoming interview.[50][51][52][53]
In late June 2017, a conflict erupted between the hosts ofMorning Joe and President Trump. On the morning of June 29, the president posted a series of tweets mocking Scarborough and Brzezinski, with his comments about the latter widely condemned as misogynistic. The hosts responded with an op-ed inThe Washington Post, in which they described White House officials warning them of a negative article that would be published in theNational Enquirer if they refused to apologize for their coverage of Trump.[54] Although the initial tweets received negative responses from both Republican politicians and political commentators includingSpeaker of the HousePaul Ryan,[55] Trump retaliated on July 1 with another tweet describing Scarborough as "crazy" and Brzezinski as "dumb as a rock".[56]
Ten days after Trump's election in November 2024, Scarborough and Brzezinski met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Announcing this visit on their November 18 show, they told viewers they intended to "restart communications" with Trump.[57] In the aftermath of the meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump, ratings declined by 15% overall and by 41% in the key 25-to-54 demographic.[58]
Ratings continue to sunset at MSNBC's "Morning Joe" after the hosts surprised audiences earlier this week by announcing they had gone to visit Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago following years of feuding with him.
| Preceded by | MSNBC Weekday Lineup 6:00AM – 10:00AM | Succeeded by |