“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough heavily criticized President Trump Friday morning for downplaying Iran’s strikes against U.S. Naval warships this week, predicting a “colossal loss” if he leaves the war in the Middle East now.
“I know the president desperately wants to get out of there because Republicans are telling him he has to look weak and look desperate to get out of there,” Scarborough acknowledged, before warning, “But man, this is going to be a colossal loss if he cuts and runs now and keeps excusing Iranians from firing on United States vessels and on our allies.”
Scarborough also pushed back against Trump’s warning this week that the Iranians must capitulate to his terms or else they will experience “a lot of pain.”
“How many times has he threatened them with a lot of pain?” the “Morning Joe” host asked, adding, “He just keeps backing down. They can do whatever they want to do, and he just keeps backing down and he’s done it again.”
“We have a president who is so desperate to end this war on whatever terms the Iranians want to end it on,” Scarborough continued. “It bears repeating: He’s going to leave a nuclear Iran.” You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment yourself in the video below.
Scarborough additionally lamented the current state of Iran’s power both within its borders and within the wider Middle East right now, characterizing it as stronger than it was before the current war.
“It’s an even more radicalized, if that’s even possible, government. There used to be a split between the Mullahs, the Revolutionary Guard, and the parliament,” Scarborough noted. “Now, it’s the most hardened element of the Revolutionary Guard that’s running it, and they have all the reason in the world now to strike out against our allies.”
“Their missile program is much stronger than people expected. Their nuclear program, still intact. In fact, they have much more ability now than they did in 2018 when Donald Trump got out of the nuclear deal,” Scarborough continued. “The regime change? This regime is even more hardened and more radical and more embittered for a lot of reasons!”
“Then [there is] the Strait [of Hormuz]. Iran has more power over the Strait than ever before,” the “Morning Joe” anchor concluded. “And yet every day Donald Trump goes out, even when they’re attacking our naval ships, and says, ‘Oh, the ceasefire’s on! The ceasefire’s on!’”
