MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has said Donald Trump ‘holds the cards’ over Vladimir Putin in their diplomacy talks surrounding the war in Ukraine.
The Morning Joe star made the declaration amid ongoing peace talks between the two leaders on Wednesday.
‘You know, there are a lot of people talking about, “who has cards… who’s not playing cards,”‘ he told fellow anchor Willie Geist.
‘I heard some people over the weekend said Vladimir Putin is the ‘only person that might…’ Scarborough continued, before interrupting himself with what was billed as the only answer.
‘No. It’s Donald Trump. Donald Trump has the cards.
‘He has the cards with, first of, with sanctions,’ he said.
A former Florida Republican who today is one of the left-leaning networks’ leading voices, the host went on to outline why he believes Trump has little to worry about.
‘He can just say, “Lindsey [Graham], go ahead – let’s pass the sanctions bill and let’s grind him down,’ he explained, referring to the GOP senator from South Carolina.
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has said Donald Trump ‘holds the cards’ over Vladimir Putin in their diplomacy talks during Wednesday’ Morning Joe
The Morning Joe star made the declaration amid ongoing peace talks between the two, pictured convening in Alaska on Friday
‘And the second thing is, well, you know, there was talk about a possible $90million military aide bill to Ukraine,’ he went on.
‘There’s two things that would change the dynamics very quickly.’
The comments continued Scarborough’s surprise support for the president in recent weeks, and Geist, in turn, observed how Putin has continued to attack Ukraine despite the recent peace talks.
Scarborough dismissed such talk as mere posturing.
‘Vladimir Putin can huff and puff and say he’s going to blow the house down all he wants,’ he said.
‘He’s not the one holding the cards. Donald Trump’s holding the cards right now.
‘It will be very interesting to see if he’ll play them over the next 10 days.’
Just last week, he criticized Democrats for publicly complaining about Trump’s takeover of Washington, DC – where Morning Joe is based – while secretly pining for a crackdown behind closed doors.
Without naming names, the host detailed how he’d received calls from his friends who quietly expressed support for the deployment of federal agents to DC.
‘He can just say, “Lindsey [Graham], go ahead – let’s pass the sanctions bill and let’s grind him down,’ he told the show’s panel, after some other surprising takes on the president’s leadership as of late
Their political allegiance? ‘All democrats,’ Scarborough said on-air August 12.
A few days before, he said he agreed with Trump in his assessment that DC is now a dangerous city.
‘Certainly don’t need the National Guard in there, or certainly not Marines,’ he said with wife Mika Brzezinski by his side.
‘But you look at Washington, DC, and it’s been dangerous for years.
‘There have been, you know, a year, a couple of years here, a couple of years there, where it’s been a bit better – but certainly over the past five years it has just been an absolute mess.
‘Its quality of life has been terrible.’
Earlier this week, Scarborough – who faced criticism for meeting with Trump in Mar-a-Lago after the election – revealed MSNBC would be changing its name to ‘MS NOW’.
The change, CEO Mark Lazarus said in a memo viewed by Daily Mail, represents the new company’s focus on ‘building our individual identity and vision for the future while laying a foundation for the continued growth and success of our businesses.’
Earlier this week, it was revealed MSNBC would be changing its name to ‘MS NOW’ by the end of the year as it prepares to spearhead a new spinoff company being called Versant
MSNBC will also lose the peacock logo long associated with NBCUniversal when the name change goes into effect later this year.
MS NOW is an acronym for My Source News Opinion World, execs said – after previously promising the network would keep the ‘NBC’ in its its name as it prepares to spearhead a spinoff company that’s been dubbed Versant.
The firm, also based in 30 Rock, is comprised of Comcast channels like MSNBC that had been causing declines in the parent company’s share price.
The stars of Morning Joe, Brzezinski and Scarborough, are said to be in the midst of exploiting their power to ‘leverage their stature within the network,’ according to Mediaite’s Colby Hall.
In a report penned earlier this month, Hall cited an unusual number of absences from both after execs pulled their show off the air following the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump.
‘It’s hard to ignore the timing,’ Hall wrote.
‘With MSNBC’s realignment on the horizon and talent contracts under review, Joe and Mika’s extended absences feel like a flex – a reminder that Morning Joe doesn’t work without them,’ he added.
The Versant spin off is expected to take place between late 2025 and early 2026. An exact date has not yet been announced.