President Donald Trump spent his Monday morning ranting about one of his favorite topics to raíl against — television news shows.
The president — still mired in his war with Iran and facing a historically low approval rating — took time out of his Monday morning to thrash HBO’sBill Maher and MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough over their ratings.
“Bill Maher’s ratings are so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue,” Trump wrote onTruth Social. “In many ways it’s SAD because, in actuality, I like him. Republicans should stop using him as a sounding board, however. It makes them look sooo weak and foolish!”
Maher hosts Real Time with Bill Maher, while Scarborough is the co-host of the Morning Joe show.
Some Republican lawmakers have been treating Maher’s show as a safe platform for sharing their ideas, as the talk show host has become more vocal in his criticism of left and progressive political positions.
After bashing Maher, Trump turned his attention to Scarborough.
“Joe Scarborough’s show has been cut way back, and will soon be ‘dead!'” Trump wrote. “Too predictable and boring! REALLY BAD RATINGS, just like the rest of MSNOW (MSDNC!)”
Scarborough and co-host wife Mika Brzezinski faced criticism in 2024 when they revealed they’d traveled to Mar-a-Lago following Trump’s electoral victory to meet with the then-president-elect.
They defended the move, saying it was necessary for them to re-open communications with the president. It does not appear to have softened Trump’s opinion.
It’s unclear why Trump thinks Morning Joe is on the rocks. The most recent ratings show Morning Joe is doing better this year than it was last year by a significant margin
The show averaged a total of 733,000 viewers for the month of August, marking a 27 percent year-over-year increase and making it the highest-rated morning show in the Washington, D.C. market.
Scarborough replied to Trump’s post live. On the Monday show, Monty Python legend Eric Idle was on to plug his new book. After a break, Scarborough acknowledged Trump’s post and quipped that he “didn’t think this war boring” while holding Idle’s book.
The camera then cut to a live shot of the White House, and MS NOW host Jonathan Lemire joked that he could see the “flickering light of MSDNC through his window.”
“Exactly!” Scarborough said. “No. 1 cable show in the morning in Washington, D.C., Mr. President.”
Scarborough later implored the president not to watch his show.
“I asked you not to watch. I specifically said, ‘Please, Mr. President, don’t watch our show.’ It’s not good for you. It’s not good for America. Just watch channels where they say s*** that you like. You don’t like Eric Idle? I love Eric Idle!”
Trump’s attacks on the political shows come just a week after the White House announced “TrumpTV,” a 24/7 broadcast of Trump-related content, and just over a week after he banned reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politicofrom the White House.
