Joe Scarborough told his co-hosts Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the “sickness” in the so-called extreme MAGA base was a version of fascism.
Scarborough blamed former President Donald Trump for this rise of “fascism” by “praising violence.”
Scarborough said, “It’s only gotten worse for these Republicans that, again, can’t just come out and say this is really bad. We have a problem with violence, fascism, growing sort of fascism on our side that started with Donald Trump. They can’t just say that. Instead, saying, don’t say the word fascism. Don’t say that word. Talk about something else. What would you like to talk about? The Phillies? No. We have violence being stirred up by Donald Trump and his acolytes.”
He continued, “I think the sickness is so deep within the base of the party, the MAGA base that follows Donald Trump, the extreme MAGA base. I think the sickness is so deep among them that if somebody criticized this violence the way they should, I think they would be seen as sellouts. That’s why on January 6, when they were counting electoral votes, what did all of those Republican members say to Donald Trump? You got to call them off. You got to tell them to stop. You got to tell them to go home.”
Scarborough added, “Why were those Republican leaders screaming on the phone at Donald Trump, begging him to tell them to stop and go away? Because they knew that this fascism, let me say the word again if it makes you uncomfortable. Let me say it again, the fascism that started rising in 2015 when Donald Trump started praising violence, started telling people of color that were in Congress to go back to where you came from when he started praising congressmen who beat up reporters for simply asking a question about health care reform.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN