MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel started the day off on Monday with a segment slamming protestors in Ferguson, shaming the St. Louis Rams football team, and calling slain unarmed teenager Michael Brown a “thug.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough began by scolding protestors across the nation for making Michael Brown, fatally shot by former Ferguson, Mo. “the face of black oppression.”
“The cops have every reason to be pissed off this morning,” Scarborough said. He argued that the five players on the St. Louis Rams who raised their arms in solidarity with Ferguson on Sunday based their gesture on “lies” that contradicted findings of a grand jury investigation.
The morning show host compared Brown to George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in 2012 and who Scarborough said was a “thug.”
The show’s self-designated liberal panelist and former ad man Donny Deutsch stepped in to register his full agreement with Scarborough.
“I’m a little left of center. You’re a little right of center. You say potato. I say potato,” Deutsch began. “I could not agree with every word you said more passionately.”
“It’s not a black-white situation. It’s a thug-police officer situation,” said Deutsch, beginning to chuckle.
Scarborough concluded with a piece of advice to his critics:
“And by the way, if I’ve offended anybody by saying what I’ve said, trust me, 95 percent of America think just like me,” he said.
“Just because there are cowards who won’t say that on TV… that’s their problem, not mine,” said Scarborough.
Watch the clip below, courtesy of MSNBC:
Correction: This post has been updated to show it was Deutsch, not Scarborough, who described Brown as a “thug.”
