President Donald Trump attacked “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski for using a homophobic slur to describe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on her show Wednesday morning in two Thursday afternoon tweets.
If it was a Conservative that said what “crazed” Mika Brzezinski stated on her show yesterday, using a certain horrible term, that person would be banned permanently from television….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
….She will probably be given a pass, despite their terrible ratings. Congratulations to @RichardGrenell, our great Ambassador to Germany, for having the courage to take this horrible issue on!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
Brzezinski made the slur while delivering a long-winded leading question to co-host Joe Scarborough on why Trump allegedly does not care about the killing of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi. (RELATED: ‘Morning Joe’s’ Mika Brzezinski Claims Fox News Is Open For Business To White Nationalists)
.@morningmika just asked if Mike Pompeo is a “wannabe dictator’s butt boy,” as homophobic a term as I’ve heard on national morning television. @MSNBC tried and failed to censor it, and did not transcribe her remark in the closed captioning. #journalism pic.twitter.com/3zK7H8evjh
— G.E. Anderson (@g_e_anderson) December 12, 2018
“So Joe, I just have to ask because I don’t think — I can’t think of anyone here who can put it more clearly than you. I understand that Donald Trump doesn’t care,” Brzezinski said, asking, “but why doesn’t Mike Pompeo care right now? Are the pathetic deflections that we just heard when he appeared on ‘Fox and Friends,’ is that a patriot speaking or a wannabe dictator’s butt boy? And I’m dead serious, I’m asking, are these the words of a patriot?”
Brzezinski apologized on Twitter later, saying:
Totally agree with you -SUPER BAD choice of words .. I should have said “water boy”… like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY! https://t.co/zIqsGdK3Tk
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) December 12, 2018
Trump also referenced his openly gay Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell’s criticism of Brzezinski. Grenell noted that Brzezinski’s apology seemed insincere.
outrageous. This is totally unacceptable & deeply disturbing. Sexualizing gay people this way is designed to control them & minimize our worth. https://t.co/fQidRbJSxb
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 12, 2018
accepting apologies is important. We all fail. But I don’t see that you’ve actually apologized to gays? Your words demean, mock and therefore try to control whole groups by minimizing our humanity. @morningmika https://t.co/whNqjHYjfn
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 12, 2018