MSNBC benched its regular morning program Monday morning, less than 48 hours after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, for the first day of the Republican National Convention.
MSNBC host Ana Cabrera hosted the 6 a.m. Eastern hour, while NBC News Now hosts Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers took over at 7 a.m. instead of the network’s usual morning program, “Morning Joe,” time slot on Monday, as the RNC prepares to kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The network has chosen to stay on breaking news coverage instead of having the show co-hosted by former Republican Rep. Joe Scarborough of Florida, his wife, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire air, CNN reported.
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“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,” a spokesperson for MSNBC said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “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.”
Trump was hit in the right ear during the attack at a Butler County, Pennsylvania, rally which left former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore dead and two other attendees at the rally wounded. The network reportedly worried that one of the guests on Morning Joe would make inappropriate comments about the attack on Trump, according to CNN, which cited an anonymous source.
An MSNBC spokesperson denied a CNN report that the decision was out of concern a guest would make inappropriate comments when reached by the DCNF.
Scarborough is reportedly one of President Joe Biden’s favorite TV hosts, and has been a vociferous critic of former Trump, calling him “the most racist president of our lifetime,” claiming that Trump was “cognitively impaired” and that Trump was “scared to death” of facing former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
Scarborough did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect additional comment from MSNBC
(Featured image credit: Screenshot/Rumble/Morning Joe)
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