Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski virtually said they were eager to see President Joe Biden leave the presidential race, with the namesake host claiming Biden’s aides wanted him to continue for financial reasons.
“The donors have all gone away,” Scarborough said. “It’s really incumbent on people that are around Joe Biden to step up at this point and help the president and help the man they love and do the right thing. This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out.”
Brzezinski echoed her MSNBC co-host’s shift, noting the reality that “it may or may not be Joe Biden” at the top of the ticket.
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“I trust Joe Biden's abilities,” Brzezinski said. “I also trust Nancy Pelosi’s political acumen. Nobody knows politics more than her. She does not get out there without information to back it up.”
CNN reported on Wednesday that Pelosi disclosed to Biden that Democrats faced a blowout and would lose their shot at winning the House of Representatives should he remain in the race. She reportedly cited polls to that effect. The report came hours after an Associated Press poll indicated that 65 percent of Democrats wanted Biden to step aside.
Thursday’s Morning Joe marked a tone shift for the two hosts, who have been vocally supportive of the president after initially casting doubt on his chances—even if their guests haven’t done the same.
Pelosi told Morning Joe last week that it was “up for the president to decide if he’s going to run,” despite Biden saying repeatedly he had made his decision and would remain in the race. Earlier that week, he told congressional Democrats in a letter that he had no intention of leaving the race.
“We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi said.
The shift also came a day after Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis created a new crisis imperiling his campaign, just hours after he said a “medical condition” could persuade him to seek the exits.
