MSNBC Pulls ‘Morning Joe’ Post-Trump Rally Shooting, Viewers React to ‘Poor Decision’

MSNBC pulled Morning Joe from the air on Monday, July 15 following the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on July 13. Viewers of the Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist-hosted news program are angered by the network’s decision, announced prior to Monday morning, the day that the Republican National Convention is set to begin.

MSNBC decided not to air the political roundtable program on July 15 in order to continue live coverage of breaking news events following the shooting on Saturday, July 13, according to CNN. Morning Joe will resume its live programming on Tuesday, July 16. A source told CNN that the decision was a preemptive measure just in case one of the many guests who engage in political discussion with the hosts said anything inappropriate regarding the shooting.

“Given the gravity and complexity of this unfolding story, NBC News, NBC News NOW and MSNBC have remained in rolling breaking news coverage since Saturday evening,” a spokesperson for NBCUniversal News Group told CNN. “As we continue to cover this story into the week, the networks will continue to cross simulcast, alternating between NBC News, NBC News NOW and ‘MSNBC Reports,’ so there is one news feed covering this developing situation.”

The Republican National Convention also begins today, July 15, with the event set to receive coverage across most major news networks. Morning Joe viewers are “stunned” that MSNBC pulled the popular program on the first day of the RNC, calling the decision “perplexing.” Others were shocked that the network wouldn’t trust its hosts to handle commentary of the shooting on their program. Other programs, such as The View, were able to provide commentary on the event in its July 15 episode.

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“I’m stunned. @MSNBC leadership has pulled their flagship morning show @Morning_Joe today, on the first day of the convention. I’m sure @JoeNBC @morningmika and their crew is stunned by this decision,” one fan wrote on X (formerly called Twitter). “It’s totally perplexing to me. So are they pulling all primetime shows too?”

“Poor decision. Suppressing our freedom to express our ideas, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient is the backbone of American democracy,” another wrote, which prompted the following reply from another X user: “Imagine a network not even trusting its own hosts.”

The decision also drew criticism from those who don’t like Morning Joe. “I hate, hate, hate the Morning Joe show with a passion, it’s a toxic stew of braindead centrist smugness,” one user wrote, “but pulling the show for this reason is even worse. Just pure cowardice from MSNBC.”

Morning Joe isn’t the only show that saw its Monday plans changed. The Daily Show announced it would go dark on July 15 instead of going live for its coverage of the RNC as planned. See more social media reactions to Morning Joe‘s absence below.

I’m stunned. @MSNBC leadership has pulled their flagship morning show @Morning_Joe today, on the first day of the @GOP convention. I’m sure @JoeNBC @morningmika and their crew is stunned by this decision. It’s totally perplexing to me. So are they pulling all primetime shows too?

— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 15, 2024

Poor decision. Suppressing our freedom to express our ideas, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient is the backbone of American democracy.

Questions and fury after MSNBC pulls plug on Monday Morning Joe following Trump shooting https://t.co/rgDGfUEmmI

— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) July 15, 2024

Imagine a network not even trusting its own hosts

— Danny (@danzu72) July 15, 2024

I was just reading an article that said Morning Joe wouldn’t be on this morning for fear somebody might say something wrong about the shooting. Funny, on every show on @MSNBC they let them bash Biden for two weeks without saying anything.

— Neal Floyd (@nfloyd52) July 15, 2024

What a mistake @MSNBC made today in not going to @Morning_Joe @JoeNBC @morningmika @WillieGeist. I mean who are these two on now? I was waiting all weekend for Joe’s take on all that’s going on. #MorningJoe pic.twitter.com/Xf8Xr1Inmj

— Michael D. Sgro, CPBC (@MichaelDSgro) July 15, 2024

I hate, hate, hate the Morning Joe show with a passion, it’s a toxic stew of braindead centrist smugness, but pulling the show for this reason is even worse. Just pure cowardice from MSNBC https://t.co/qApIti9ksh

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) July 15, 2024

Morning Joe, Weekdays, 6a/5c, MSNBC