MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski bashed the Wall Street Journal for allowing current and former House Republicans to question president Joe Biden's mental fitness.
The "Morning Joe" co-hosts ripped Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy, the current and previous House speaker, for suggesting the president suffered age-related memory problems, saying both men had praised Biden's sharpness in the past.
"People around Mike Johnson and admit that this is basically House Republicans whacking [Biden]," Scarborough said.
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"Why didn't they ask Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert?" Brzezinski said. "The strong feelings you're seeing about this article comes also because the context of this race and these two candidates, it's interesting. That's all I'll say. Anyhow, that flies in the pace face of what McCarthy said about Biden's effectiveness in the past."
The co-hosts read from a number of reports where both men expressed surprise at Biden's sharpness and depth of knowledge on various legislative topics, and Scarborough said McCarthy and foreign officials have praised the president to him personally.
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"I could go on and on with things that Kevin McCarthy and others have said about negotiating with Joe Biden," Scarborough said. "I could also talk about what the French delegation said when they were negotiating with him and what they told me, and friends that I have in that French delegation were a part of those negotiations who said that [president Emmanuel] Macron came out like, 'Wow, okay, he's a lot tougher than what we expected.' Actually, I think Macron sort of got his backup because Biden was pressing so hard. I can tell you the same thing about Middle Eastern people I talked to. Some people are suggesting that he, you know, a bit too tough."
Other panelists cited similar assessments from a variety of officials, but Scarborough said the Journal allowed McCarthy to contradict numerous previous statements about Biden as he attempts to restore his own political relevance after he was ousted as speaker and then retired from Congress.
"We don't have to talk to anybody but the person they quote, Kevin McCarthy, who is the source," Scarborough said. "Again, Kevin McCarthy, who is on actually a sort of a [public relations] tour right now to clean up the fact, and Politico has written a story about this, the fact he lies, the fact he bounces back and forth. He is trying to go on a basically P.R. tour, but we don't have to ask world leaders, but please feel free to jump in. Let's just talk to the guy that was the source of this story and quoted."
"McCarthy mocked Biden's age and mental acuity in public while privately telling allies, in private, he found him sharp and substantive, he called him very professional, very smart and very tough and this same meeting, again, the Wall Street Journal is basing this story on, on Kevin McCarthy's lies?" Scarborough added. "Kevin McCarthy's lies, which, it's in the press. There is a mountain of quotes from Kevin McCarthy and people around Kevin McCarthy saying that Biden is sharp. He's mentally sharp, privately. i mean, yeah. so go ahead and talk about what i talked about and talking to world leaders. but, again, it's just not complicated. They went to a guy who has admitted that he lies in public and that privately Biden is very sharp."
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