MSNBC didn’t air Morning Joe on Monday after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend, choosing instead to continue rolling breaking news coverage of the shooting and its aftermath.
The show’s X account told followers Sunday that the popular morning show will “return on Tuesday,” inviting viewers to tune in to MSNBC anyway for more coverage of the attempt on the former president’s life. The decision to bench the politics roundtable show on the day that the Republican National Convention starts in Milwaukee—days after the party’s presumptive presidential nominee’s brush with death—was reportedly made for a very particular reason.
A source familiar with the decision told CNN that Morning Joe was axed Monday in order to avoid a potential situation in which one of the program’s guests makes an inappropriate comment that could be used to criticize the show or the network. The decision was reportedly made by NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde in conjunction with MSNBC president Rashida Jones, as well as Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
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A spokesperson for MSNBC denied CNN’s reporting to The Daily Beast.
“Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “As we continue to cover this story into the week, the networks will continue to cross simulcast, alternating between NBC News, NBC News NOW and ‘MSNBC Reports’, so there is one news feed covering this developing situation.”
