Joe Scarborough Calls Donald Trump a White Supremacist, Criticizes Beto O'Rourke: 'You Don't Have to Apologize for Everything'

GettyImages-950434424
Joe Scarborough attends the 2018 Matrix Awards at Sheraton Times Square on April 23, 2018, in New York City. He mocked Democrat presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke. Rob Kim/Getty Images

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough poked fun at Beto O'Rourke over the Democratic presidential candidate's propensity for apologizing repeatedly.

Scarborough said that going into a bruising presidential race, the former Texas congressman should not feel the need to say sorry for remarks that "a couple of blue checkmarks" took exception to—especially as President Donald Trump is not known for apologizing on Twitter.

The MSNBC host was reacting to the fallout from a joke O'Rourke made on the campaign trail that he "sometimes" helps raise his children with his wife.

While it drew a laugh from audiences, some said it could be interpreted as being dismissive of the challenges faced by single parents.

O'Rourke was contrite when asked about it during the "Political Party Live" podcast on Friday, saying: "Not only will I not say that again, but I will be much more thoughtful in the ways that I talk about my marriage."

But Scarborough made fun of O'Rourke's mea culpa, joking he was trying to become "a better man" and saying, mimicking O'Rourke: "I'm going to go on a trip to Kansas and write some posts on Medium about how this is a mid-life crisis for me because I use self-deprecating humor."

Scarborough said "there were people out there who were just too stupid to figure out it was self-deprecating humor" and that O'Rourke was "elevating" his wife.

"Do not apologize every time a blue checkmark says something mean about you, because I guarantee you the guy that you want to run against is a white supremacist and he doesn't apologize for that," Scarborough said (via Mediaite).

Beto O'Rourke
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks with media after finishing the Lucky Run 5k race on March 16 in North Liberty, Iowa. O'Rourke has been visiting towns and cities in eastern Iowa this weekend to... STEPHEN MATUREN/AFP/Getty Images

"So you don't have to apologize for putting out a self-deprecating joke," he added.

O'Rourke's campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in raised $6.1 million during the first 24 hours of campaigning, more than any other candidate.

O'Rourke, who was narrowly beaten by Senator Ted Cruz in their 2018 Senate race, managed to raise more than $80 million during the campaign, a record for Senate races.

There is speculation that if he were to win the nominaiton would choose a woman as his running mate. At the end of a speech in Iowa last week, he said: "It would be very difficult not to select a woman with so many extraordinary women who are running right now," The Dallas Morning News reported.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go