The co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” defended themselves Tuesday morning from accusations that they devote too much airtime to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Trump made one of his many call-ins to the program for a 10-minute interview. At the end, co-host Mika Brzezinski addressed any critics who might be watching.
“I should just point out, for all the eye rolling that I hear happening, that if Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz would like to call into the show, we would take their call at any time,” she said.
Brzezinski said Trump “has proved himself to be the most accessible candidate, like it or not. But don’t blame us if the other candidates are not as accessible.”
Host Joe Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, backed her up. “We’d have [Rubio] for three hours. Any candidate that wants to pick up the phone and call us, we would love to have you on. We’re here for you.”
Brzezinski even proposed that if Rubio, who has not appeared on the show at all through the campaign, were to call in, the program would bypass a commercial break. “We’d lose money on it,” she said.
The national political media, cable news in particular, have been criticized for giving Trump too much coverage. Critics say it has drowned out the other candidates and helped fuel Trump’s rise.
But many in the press have said that Trump is simply easier to book as an interview.
“He’s been easier to book than many, many people. I won’t name names,” conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt recently told the Washington Examiner. “He is very disciplined in making the rounds and so that has been to his benefit. It’s all media all the time. That’s great. You’ve got to flood the zone in America. In a media cycle where there’s a breaking story every day, every candidate ought to be available every day, to every major media platform.”
