The Morning Joe crew on Thursday took some potshots at Fox News “liberal” pundit Harold Ford Jr. over his tendency to agree with his conservative colleagues while taking a “both sides” approach to any topic.
Making this more of a gut punch: Ford was once a frequent presence on the MSNBC flagship morning show until he was benched in late 2017 after he was fired from Morgan Stanley over misconduct allegations.
During a segment on the indicted FBI informant behind the GOP’s now-discredited Biden bribery allegations, Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski asserted that much of the “disinformation” and “twisting and turning” around the president’s impeachment starts and ends with Fox News.
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Brzezinski highlighted some bubble-popping commentary on the subject from Jessica Tarlov, a co-host of Fox’s The Five who roasted Republicans for their “embarrassing” impeachment inquiry. But when Brzezinski used the descriptor “lone liberal co-host,” her host (and husband) Joe Scarborough mistakenly thought she getting ready to mention their former colleague Ford. (Ford was named one of The Five’s rotating “liberal” co-hosts, along with Tarlov, in 2022.)
“Wait a second, Harold?” Scarborough asked. “If you agree with both sides, you’re not liberal, right? Harold’s, like, he’s just an agreer, right?”
While Brzezinski sarcastically exclaimed “no,” their co-host Willie Geist jumped in the say that he “loved” Ford. “He very smartly brings in his side by being kind to both sides,” Brzezinski added. “Do not mistake that.”
Scarborough asserted that he wasn’t “mistaking anything,” asking whether Geist agreed that “our friend Harold” is just an “agreer.” Geist proceeded to seemingly roast Ford by invoking the Fox star’s most commonly deployed tactic of total agreement.
“I would just say I agree with everything Harold said, I agree with everything you said, and I agree with everything Mika said right there,” Geist said.
“No, see, what Harold does, he goes, ‘I respect what you say, I respect what you say, but here’s what I think,’” Brzezinski responded.
A former Democratic congressman, Ford became a regular on Morning Joe following his exit from politics. He was pulled off the air in December 2017, however, after he was fired as managing director of Morgan Stanley. HuffPost also reported at that time that a woman alleged Ford had sexually harassed her, suggesting this was what led to Ford’s firing. His MSNBC benching also came shortly after fellow Joe regular Mark Halperin’s suspension and eventual termination over sexual misconduct allegations.
The following month, Morgan Stanley said that while Ford was fired for inappropriate conduct, his behavior was not sexual in nature. The statement was part of a legal settlement the bank reached with Ford, who denied that he acted improperly and threatened the sue Morgan Stanley for wrongful termination and the woman who made the claims.
Though there were indications that a “vindicated” Ford would return to MSNBC after the settlement, he ended up staying off cable news for a year before showing up on Fox News in 2019.
