Scarborough Wonders If ‘Jon Stewart Did This As A Favor To Brian Williams’

Joe Scarborough shares his thoughts about Jon Stewart's departure from "The Daily Show" on the Feb. 11, 2015 episode of "Morning Joe."
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough engaged in some on-air speculation Wednesday about the motives for Jon Stewart announcing his departure from “The Daily Show”, suggesting the comedian timed it “as a favor” to embattled journalist Brian Williams.

Scarborough offered his theory during “Morning Joe” after a guest, Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations, noted that Stewart’s high-profile announcement coincided with an ethics scandal engulfing Williams, the longtime NBC News anchor.

Stewart “could have stepped down at any time,” Haass said. “The fact that he stepped down in the middle of this — was there any connection?”

Scarborough found the theory credible, and noted that Williams and Stewart are both from New Jersey.

“These guys, two Jersey guys, apparently spent time together,” Scarborough said, relating a story he had heard of Williams, Stewart, and Bruce Springsteen hanging out together on the Jersey Shore.

“It’s hard to not think that Jon Stewart did this as a favor to Brian Williams,” Scarborough said.

h/t Mediaite

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. More like a favor to Beck.

  2. Actually, Joe, I think that Stewart mentioned this now because it was likely going to hit the press as wild speculation rather than him being able to get ahead of it and control it.

    An announcement like this usually gets made either on Monday or on Thursday for the show…not on Tuesday or Wednesday. I might be wrong on that, but it seems like that is how things go.

  3. His rationale is that they are from the same state, so Jon Stewart bases his personal decisions that I’m sure were discussed and planned in advance with his family is all about taking the heat off of Williams? I have to wonder if he actually makes his own personal life decisions in such convoluted ways that he thinks this is a reasonable train of thought.

  4. What the fuck is this even supposed to mean? What kind of “favor” is it supposed to be? Stewart’s stepping down because . . . what, otherwise he would be powerless to resist making fun of Williams?

    Honest to god, with enough flashlight batteries and rope, sometime’s it is possible to penetrate the depths of the conservative mind and trace out the tortured mental process that results in the things that come out their mouths, but when the mind in question is just a solid block of granite, it can’t be done.

  5. Yeah, most people walk away from a reported $30m a year job out of in-state loyalty.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

44 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for beccam Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for mmurdoch Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for meri Avatar for noen Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for artemisia Avatar for Diogenes67 Avatar for avattoir Avatar for enon Avatar for cwazycajun Avatar for sf_brian Avatar for mrcomments Avatar for sniffit Avatar for musgrove Avatar for twowolves Avatar for sweetdee Avatar for zlohcuc Avatar for rhondayes Avatar for docterry Avatar for footballbat

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: