“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski said the major broadcast networks should refuse to air President Trump’s primetime immigration address Tuesday night, saying it would be nothing short of a “stream of lies” that would further “debase” the office of U.S. president.

“Done right, a nighttime Oval Office address can unite the country in trying times. It can inspire the better angels in ourselves, but all the signs here indicate that is not what Donald Trump has in mind,” Brzezinski said. “Like they’ve done with other presidents in other times, the networks should refuse to turn over the airwaves to Donald Trump tonight for what they know objectively to be a steady stream of lies.

“Maybe that will stop him from debasing yet another one of our historic, solemn and cherished presidential traditions,” she added. “They shouldn’t run it.”

Also Read: Joe Scarborough Doubts Trump N-Word Tape Exists: 'He Did Not Say Racially Insensitive Things' When I Knew Him

On Monday, President Trump revealed that he would deliver a primetime address from the Oval Office about immigration and the proposed border wall. The speech will be his first such remarks from the Oval Office to the country and comes as the nation remains mired in a three-week-long government shutdown over funding for the long promised wall.

Critics like Brzezinski have said Trump should be denied access to such powerful television real estate as he will use it to spread falsehoods into the homes of the American people. His regular attacks on the media have also not generally endeared executives to him either.

Also Read: President Trump Trashes 'Crazy' Democrats for His 'Home Alone' Christmas: 'I Am All Alone (Poor Me)'

As of Tuesday morning, however, it appeared that all of the networks — including Brzezinski’s own MSNBC — had nevertheless decided to agree to Trump’s request for airtime. With stakes running high amid the shutdown, Democratic leaders have also demanded equal time for a response to refute the president’s claims tonight, immediately after his address.

A rep for MSNBC did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Brzezinski monologue.

In his newsletter Monday evening, CNN’s Brian Stelter quoted an anonymous television executive who put the conundrum bluntly to him in a text message.

“He calls us fake news all the time, but needs access to airwaves and cable pipes to deliver his false narrative,” he read.

11 Media Losers of 2018, From Les Moonves to Michael Avenatti (Photos)

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.
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Les Moonves: Once celebrated for his leadership at CBS, Moonves faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct for which he was ultimately fired. CBS said in December that it would seek to deny him a roughly $120-million severance package.
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Laura Ingraham: Long a divisive figure (even on the right), the Fox News host might have avoided the losers' column were it not for a sponsor boycott launched against her by Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg in March. Months later, advertisers are still wary of appearing on the program.

Also Read: Laura Ingraham Compares Confederate Statue Protesters to ISIS
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Michael Ferro/Tronc: The leadership of Michael Ferro has now made Tronc synonymous with mismanagement. In addition to leaving the top job with a #MeToo scandal over his head, Ferro is now facing accusations of making anti-semitic remarks and paying off an LA Times editor who reportedly had the comments on tape.
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Media Publishers: From Mic.com on the left to The Weekly Standard on the right, publishers came in for a beating, with some closing up entirely. With few exceptions, legacy shops saw print sales decline, while digital-first properties continue to face the crushing economics of turning pageviews into profits.
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Breitbart: It's a name you probably haven't heard for a while. Once a key part of the engine which powered Trump's improbable election, the website had long fallen off most radars. A sustained pressure campaign against advertisers on the site by Sleeping Giants has also taken a bite out of revenue.

Also Read: Breitbart and Drudge Hit by Google Cloud Issue, Go Offline
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Marc Lamont Hill: Once a CNN regular, Hill lost his job as a contributor on the network after making remarks about Israel and Palestine at the UN that many called anti-semitic. A chummy photo with Louis Farrakhan -- who has compared Jews to termites -- didn't help matters for him either. He remains a tenured professor at Temple University.

Also Read: CNN Fires Contributor Marc Lamont Hill Over Israel Remarks (Video)
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CBS and "60 Minutes": Both the network and its marquee news program took a beating this year. "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager was forced out in a MeToo scandal, while details of an investigation launched by the network generally hit the press before reaching top management.
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Michael Avenatti: Just months ago, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels in her legal fight with Donald Trump was considered a serious presidential contender. But his reputation took a hit after taking on a questionable MeToo claim against Brett Kavanaugh, and he disappeared for good after being booked on felony domestic violence charges in November (though he was not charged).

Also Read: Michael Avenatti Says He Won’t Run for President in 2020 After All
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Andy Lack: The MSNBC/NBC News chief had a rough 2018. His network's decision to pass on Ronan Farrow's historic MeToo reporting continues to reverberate. His big bet on Megyn Kelly also flopped and became a multi-million dollar ulcer which still remains far from resolved.
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Gavin McInnes: Always on the fringes, McInnes had nevertheless carved a niche for himself as an online provocateur, a host on CRTV and as the head of his own (occasionally violent/racist) fraternal organization, The Proud Boys. By the end of 2018, he was banned from Twitter, dropped by CRTV and had resigned from The Proud Boys.
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Univision: Univision spent $135 million on Gawker Media back in 2016 and has spent most of the time since mismanaging the former properties and being called out by its own writers. Amid buyouts to editorial and broad layoffs elsewhere, Univision revealed it is looking to cut its losses and unload the websites once and for all.

Also Read: Univision Unveils New Strategy to Drive Millennials From Their Phones to the TV (Exclusive)
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2018 was a rough year for media, and for this rogues’ gallery, the damage was particularly catastrophic

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.

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