MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said Tuesday that Americans are “stupid” if they believe there’s an immigration crisis on the southern U.S. border.
Scarborough made that remarks while arguing on his “Morning Joe” show that television networks shouldn’t broadcast President Trump’s speech on immigration Tuesday night, because he would use that to tell “lies” to Americans.
“Why in the world would the networks run Donald Trump’s address tonight when we know that Donald Trump is going to be using it to spread these lies?” Scarborough asked.
“He is going to be telling nothing but lies and falsehoods, and he’s going to be twisting reality … And at this point I’ve got to say, how stupid are Americans who still believe there’s a crisis on the southern border?”
[Related: Ex-RNC chairman: Trump will ‘ill communicate’ border security pitch in prime-time address]
Scarborough and other guests on his show argued that the Trump administration has incorrectly said hundreds of terrorist suspects are being caught at the southern border, when border officials only catch a handful each year. Scarborough said Trump has been “lying” about the threat, which his administration’s own data shows is not as serious as Trump says.
“All to justify the president going on tonight making up an emergency so he can build his wall along the southern border,” Scarborough said. “It’s outrageous.”
He also accused Trump of lying about the caravan during the election, and of trying to scare people into thinking they’d be accosted by illegal immigrants at their local Cracker Barrel.
“They played you for suckers, they played you for fools, and I know that makes you angry,” Scarborough said to Trump’s supporters.
