It appears MSNBC has learned a lesson from their competitors at ABC News after Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski criticized a guest with a legal comment about Donald Trump.
ABC News settled with Donald Trump for $16 million after host George Stephanopoulos falsely said in a March interview that the president-elect had been “found liable for rape” — instead of the correct wording of sexual abuse — against writer E. Jean Carroll with Nancy Mace.
Mika Brzezinski, who along with her co-host and husband Joe Scarborough has been trying to make peace with Trump in recent months, was ready to put out the fire with guest Scott Galloway, an author, podcast host and professor at the NYU School of Business, where Donald’s youngest son Barron is registered.
Galloway discussed the reasons why Trump defeated Kamala Harris in November when he unfairly targeted the newly elected president.
‘We are in the middle of a series of small revolutions to correct income inequality. And the reason we put an insurgent and a rapist in power is because for the first time in the history of our country, a 30-year-old man or woman is not doing as well as his or his or her parents in third place stood. Galloway said.
As the “great conversation” ended, Brzezinki made sure to correct Galloway to his face.
“I would like to comment on a word used in this interview. Donald Trump was tried civilly for sexual assault libel, not rape. But the judge in the case compared his actions to rape, but the liability was officially called sexual abuse.’
Brzezinski cut to commercial before Galloway could respond.
It appears MSNBC has learned a lesson from their competitors at ABC News after Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski criticized a guest with a legal comment about false claims about Donald Trump
Brzezinski, who along with her co-host and husband Joe Scarborough has tried to make peace with Trump in recent months, was on hand to put out the fire with guest Scott Galloway, a professor at the NYU School of Business, where Donald’s youngest son Barron is registered
In an email to DailyMail.com, Galloway believed Brzezinski made the right decision in response to his statement, but noted it was a sign of hard times.
‘Mika did her job. “It is a reflection of the double standard in the media, where traditional media have greater exposure to liability (ABC, NewsCorp.) and ’emerging’ media platforms (Meta, X) can engage in conspiracy/disinformation with impunity,” he said.
The husband and wife have been embroiled in a lot of drama after visiting newly elected President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which infuriated their viewers.
The two MSNBC hosts had met Trump after a long feud, with the pair long criticizing the president-elect as a racist, sexist and fascist, and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
DailyMail.com has contacted MSNBC and Professor Galloway for comment.
Stephanopoulos is reportedly “apoplectic” and “humiliated” over his old employers’ decision to pay the settlement money.
However, legal experts have argued that ignoring multiple network warnings not to say “rape” on air is likely to harm their ability to fight back against Trump.
Several anonymous sources are now telling it New York Post that Stephanopoulos was warned not to say “rape” multiple times before the broadcast aired.
Legal experts have argued that ignoring multiple network warnings not to say “rape” on air is likely to harm their ability to fight back against Trump
Stephanopoulos is reportedly ‘apolectic’ and ‘humiliated’ over his old employers’ decision to pay the settlement money
The segment involved an interview with Mace, where Stephanopoulos pressed her on why she supported Trump after he was found liable for sexual assault.
Stephanopoulos said, “I’m asking you a question, why are you supporting someone who has been found liable for rape?”
Mace, who has seen her shares rise since Trump’s election, accused the host of trying to shame her by bringing up the matter.
The congresswoman continued, “As a rape victim who has been shamed for years for her rape. You’re trying to shame me again.’
Mace was raped when she was 16 years old and says this drives her to be an advocate for women’s issues.
“I supported a man who I believe is the best for our country. It’s not Joe Biden. You watched the dueling meetings in Georgia yesterday.
And here you are trying to shame a rape victim. I think it’s disgusting.’
‘You keep saying I’m a disgrace to you. What does a question about a presidential candidate say…’ Stephanopoulos said. “You’re asking a rape victim,” Mace interrupted.
ABC chose to settle for Donald Trump over George Stephanopoulos’ comments because they did not want the star host, who is “electronically sloppy,” to come under further scrutiny
The settlement, first reported by Fox Newswas filed publicly on Saturday, revealing that the parties had reached an agreement in the lawsuit.
As part of the agreement, ABC must also post a note on its website expressing regret over the claim in a March 10 segment on Stephanopoulos’ “This Week.”
A statement from the network said: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements about President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Representative Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
Trump had Stephanopoulos and the network sued for defamation shortly after the segment aired.
His lawyers accused Stephanopoulos of making the statements with “malice” and disregard for the truth.
A jury in New York ordered Trump in May 2023 to pay $5 million in damages for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
He was subsequently ordered to pay another $83.3 million for defamation after publicly denying sexually assaulting Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996.
Jurors had deliberated less than three hours after a two-week civil trial in which the former president testified for just three minutes.
Stephanopoulos initially opposed the lawsuit, telling Stephen Colbert that he “would not be deterred from doing my job because of a threat.”
He added: “Trump sued me for using the word ‘rape’ even though a judge said it actually happened. We have filed a motion to dismiss.”
Trump is also suing CBS News for $10 billion in damages, saying the network “conducted deceptively” when it interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris in October.
Lawyers for the president claimed numerous violations by the broadcaster, including lying in a deliberate and malicious manner, according to a lawsuit.
They wrote that the complaint arises from CBS’ partisan and unlawful election acts and voter interference through malicious, deceptive and substantial news distortion intended to confuse, deceive and deceive the public.”
Trump and his team also claim that CBS News tried to provide coverage for Democrats by making Kamala Harris’ performance look better than it was.