Ignoring Post-Debate Polls, Morning Joe Hosts Claim Trump “Dominated The Second Debate”

Scarborough: “It Was Donald Trump's Most Effective Debate Performance To Date” 

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski lauded Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's performance in the second presidential debate, calling it “vintage Trump” and declaring that “he dominated the second debate” in his “most effective debate performance to date.” Scarborough and Brzezinski’s assertion that Trump “dominated” goes against the post-debate CNN poll, which showed a “clear victory” for Hillary Clinton, who won the debate 57 percent to 34 percent, as well as YouGov’s post-debate poll which found “Hillary Clinton won the debate against Donald Trump by 47% to 42%.” The Morning Joe hosts have been criticized throughout the election cycle for propping up the Trump campaign with soft interviews and they recently went to bat for Trump by calling out journalists who noted that Trump’s debate performances were “graded on a curve.” From the October 10 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe: 

JOE SCARBOROUGH (CO-HOST): I think despite what you think of Donald Trump, what you think of Hillary Clinton, what you think of how this race has gone over the weekend and where you think it's going to end up, whether you think last night made any difference at all to the final outcome in November. I think there are a couple of things that people in the press may not want to admit, but it was plainly evident watching it on TV last night. Number one, it was Donald Trump's most effective debate performance to date. There's not a close second. Just not a close second. Secondly, despite the fact she had an unprecedented cheering section in the media, the fact is for somebody watching and people will see this if they go back and watch it again today or if they see parts of it a week from now or a month from now, Hillary Clinton was on the defensive most of the night. She seemed unsure of herself most of the night and he dominated the second debate in the same way she dominated the first debate. And third, and I think most importantly for this political season, Donald Trump, who has made the Republican Party members lives living and breathing hells for the past year and a half, last night turned it up to 11. And all of those people that jumped ship about halfway through the debate were looking at their TV saying oh shoot. Because -- and again I know everybody in the press hates Donald Trump. I'm giving you reality if you don't like it. 

MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): What he said was horrible

SCARBOROUGH: Yeah yeah he's horrible blah, blah, blah. Listen, I heard it, I heard it last night. I saw it on Twitter. I understand. You believe he's an evil man. I'm just giving you the political reality and this is the political reality. That for the Republican base, Donald Trump delivered the attack against the Clinton machine that the Republican base and middle America have been waiting for, for years now. And so good luck being in Pensacola, Florida saying “Hey I'm off of Donald Trump” or saying in Kansas “Oh, I'm not for Donald Trump anymore” especially when no Republican in America should have been surprised by what they heard on Friday. 

BRZEZINSKI: And no Republican in America could have done what he did last night. They just -- my god. It was epic. It was vintage Trump. He produced a day-long show that rocked the political world. Take a look at some of the moments. 

SCARBOROUGH: With his back against the wall.