MSNC’s Joe Scarborough isn’t one to readily cop to an error, even when his trusty sidekick gently tries to set him straight.
But there are days when even the usually self-assured Scarborough has to concede that his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, has his number.
Monday was one of the days, with the “Morning Joe” duo comparing President Obama’s response to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to Ronald Reagan’s own reaction to Korean Air Flight 007, which was shot down by the Soviet Union in 1983.
Republicans and conservatives have assailed Obama for his approach to the crisis, but Brzezinski noted that it took Reagan four days “to go back and make the strong statements that he made” to the downed Korean airliner. The observation was correct, even if it didn’t sound right to Scarborough.
“[Reagan] immediately canceled his vacation,” Scarborough said wrongly.
“No, he didn’t, actually,” Bzezinski said.
Scarborough remained firm in his convictions and even challenged Brzezinski to double-check the facts herself.
“He immediately canceled it. He immediately went back to the White House. He immediately canceled fundraising events and campaign events,” Scarborough said. “Yes, he did. No, he did. You can go back and look. Ronald Reagan didn’t keep campaigning. He stopped when the Korean airliner went down.”
Someone eventually went back and looked, Brzezinski was vindicated and Scarborough was forced to offer a mea culpa on Twitter for his “boneheaded error.”
@morningmika was right and I was wrong. Thanks for keeping me honest Mika. Great job!!!
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) July 21, 2014
And thanks to all the kind souls on Twitter who pointed out my boneheaded error as well. You are great ombudsmen! I was wrong. @morningmika
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) July 21, 2014
It’s not that Scarborough needed to manipulate those facts in order to advance his argument. RedState’s Erick Erickson managed to ridicule Obama’s response to MH17 even after acknowledging that Reagan waited four days after the Korean Air crash to address the nation.
Arrogantly and aggressively assert false fact on TV. Apologize on Twitter. Great. It’s the modern equivalent of the the old print journalism convention that posted corrections to front page stories on page A-26 below the tide tables.
Measure twice, cut once.
Also remember, there was a US congressman on that flight, giving us a dog in that fight beyond the humanitarian and military overreach concerns both these incidents bring up. Yah! Reagan best prez evar!
Once again, the reality of St Ronnie of Raygun shatters the myth.
What happens when Obama Delusion Syndrome meets Reagan Infallibility Syndrome.
Tomorrow on Morning Joe: “Did hothead Obama speak too soon? Shouldn’t he have taken the patient, measured approach like Reagan?”