Joe Scarborough Gets Candid About Trump Relationship & Their Phone Conversations

Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough has been opening up about his phone conversations with President Donald Trump, including one that took place recently amid the protests in Minneapolis.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (January 28), Scarborough said he’s known Trump for over 25 years, though their relationship has become fraught as they’ve differed on several political views. However, the MS NOW host said he had recently spoken with the President by phone.

It was only the second time he’d called Trump in seven years, the first being following the assassination attempt on the president in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

“I hadn’t talked to him for seven years until after the assassination attempt,” Scarborough shared, per RawStory. “I called him up, we’d known each other for 25 years, I called him up and said, ‘I’m glad you’re okay, frightening times, I’ll be praying for your safety and your health. Even if, at the time, I’m calling you a fascist every day on the show. Even if I disagree with you, I’m praying for your health and your safety.'”

The most recent call came amid the situation in Minneapolis, where thousands of residents have been protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Tensions escalated this month after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents.

“I called [Trump] after he announced that he called [Minnesota Governor] Tim Walz, and he called the mayor of Minneapolis,” Scarborough explained. “I said, ‘Listen,’ I don’t usually do this, but I called him up, and I said, ‘If you don’t mind, off the record, tell me about the call.’ And he told me about the call.”

He continued, “And I said, ‘You know, Mr. President, I think it’s a good thing for Americans to see you, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis talking to each other. We need more of that.'”

Scarborough and his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski faced backlash in November 2024 after they revealed they’d met with Trump following his presidential election win.

“Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him,” Brzezinski said on Morning Joe at the time. “For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, why wouldn’t we? Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country.”

Viewers clearly haven’t forgotten that, as many brought it up in their reactions to Scarborough’s latest comments on Kimmel.

“Joe and Mika ran as fast as they could to trump and bent the knee,” wrote one YouTube commenter.

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“We have not forgotten Joe. Kiss our butt,” said another.

“Joe and Mika kissed the ring and I won’t watch him again. Full of it Joe!” another added.

Another wrote, “This guy kissed the ring as soon as he could. Why give him airtime?”

“I can’t believe jimmy had this two faced coward on. Wtf,” said one fan.

“I stopped watching him when he immediately ran to Mar-a-Lago to suck up to Trump days after he was made POTUS again,” added another.