Rosie O'Donnell blasted MSNBC co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for meeting with President-elect Trump last week. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for GLAAD)
"Unreal," O'Donnell continued, "For months you were telling us he’s the worst thing that could happen to this country and democracy. And then you go kiss his ring? Despicable. Despicable you, both of you."
Scarborough and Brzezinski traveled to Mar-a-Lago last Friday to speak with Trump following his decisive electoral victory earlier this month. Talking about the meeting during the Monday episode of their MSNBC talk show, they described that Trump was cheerful during the meeting and appeared interested in finding common ground with Democrats on major issues.
Scarborough told his audience that they went over such topics as abortion, mass deportation and threats of retribution against political opponents and media outlets, and characterized the meeting as a step to "restart communications."
The meeting enraged fellow liberals, who trashed the co-hosts on social media. "BREAKING NEWS: I TOLD YOU SO," former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann wrote, calling the pair "Trump collaborators."
"Normalizing Trump is a bad idea," MSNBC host Katie Phang also wrote on X, in an apparent reference to her network colleagues. "Period."
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough said Tuesday that there was a "massive disconnect" between social media and reality, reacting to criticisms of his meeting with President-elect Trump. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
In the clip, O’Donnell urged her followers to turn off the TV.
"It’s like, 'Impending doom. Impending doom.’ But without a warning. They’re just like, ‘Well, Trump nominated so-and-so,’ not like, ‘Holy s---, people. You’re not going to believe this. We got to do something.’"
"That’s what the newscasters should be saying, but they’re not. But they’re not," she added.
CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings reacted to criticism of their meeting during the show on Tuesday. Brzezinski defended the move, stating, "Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him."
"Don't be mistaken," Scarborough added. "We're not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We're here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times."
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz, Hanna Panreck and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
