In her first interview since news broke earlier this week of Morning Joe’s visit to Mar-a-Lago, Mika Brzezinski offered insight on her and co-host Joe Scarborough’s meeting with president-elect Donald Trump on The Daily Beast Podcast. The date came together after “mutual” interest from both Trump and the Morning Joe camps, she said.
“It doesn’t have to be easy, it doesn’t have to be fun, it’s not supposed to be. It’s our job,” Brzezinski told Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee.
She and Scarborough revealed on Nov. 18 that they had met with Trump after years of combative discourse; the pair said they had “realized it’s time to do something different.” The disclosure quickly proved controversial, spurring much conversation—and much criticism, which Brzezinski was quick (and firm) to push back on.
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“I’ve heard from a lot of people... people that I respect a great deal, leaders, people I don’t usually hear from who are really powerful, who just wanted to let me know that that was the right thing to do,” she said of the reactions, before noting she felt like she’d become a “punching bag” for pundits and commenters online. (She offered a particularly pointed call-out to peers for writing about her without “calling her first.”)
“The media landscape right now is dominated by echo chambers,” she continued. “It’s my job to talk to people I don’t agree with—or even feel threatened by,” Brzezinski continued. Addressing accusations of “normalizing” Trump, she emphasized the importance of discourse in today’s polarized political climate.
Most of the conversation with Trump was on background—a media term which means it can’t be quoted or reported on directly—Brzezinski explained. “I’m sharing as much as I can,” she added. “I’m also not trying to be dishonest or cagey.”
And she’s hopeful to have more to share moving forward: “I hope that we have more conversations,” she said of future quality time with Trump. “I hope we do an interview.”
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