MSNBC's Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough on Monday mocked President Donald Trump by digging up a 1990 quote from his ex-wife in which she reportedly claimed the New York businessman kept Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf by his bedside.
The Quote
"You really should have read the Constitution and a little bit of history before you got into office. I heard you had Mein Kampf by your bedside. I think your wife said you had Mein Kampf, your ex-wife said you had Mein Kampf by your bedside. Should have had the Constitution. It should have been a little bit of history, and you would understand that Supreme Court justices, they can't do what you're asking them to do."
"I heard you had Mein Kampf by your bedside." --
— Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) December 14, 2020
shameless Scarborough peddles debunked story 🥴🤔😡https://t.co/F7SBjbfNKK #Trump @JoeNBC #Hitler @JoeNBC pic.twitter.com/JEYORddU9J
Why It Matters
In Sunday tweets, Trump blasted the Supreme Court after it "wouldn't find standing in an original jurisdiction matter between multiple states, and including the President of the United States. [It's] absurd. It is enumerated in the Constitution. They just 'chickened out' and didn't want to rule on the merits of the case."
Trump was referring to the lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general seeking to overturn the election. The Supreme Court rejected it Friday due to lack of standing under Article 3 of the Constitution.
Scarborough ridiculed Trump by saying Joe Biden's supporters are "getting tired of winning" as the president's numerous legal challenges are rejected in state after state. The Electoral College is also sending in its official votes for Biden on Monday.
Scarborough dredged up the quote from Ivana Trump, the president's first wife, in a September 1990 Vanity Fair interview in which she reportedly claimed her husband kept Hitler's 1925 autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, on his night stand.
This is not the first time the books on Trump's nightstand have been the focal point of political debate. Trump claimed several times during his 2016 presidential campaign that he keeps two books by his bedside: The Art of the Deal and the Bible.
The Counterpoint
Marty Davis, a Trump friend quoted by Vanity Fair—and decades later by Scarborough— acknowledged to the magazine that he did give Trump a book about Hitler, just not Mein Kampf. He also corrected the New York real estate mogul's claim that he is a Jew.
"But it was My New Order, Hitler's speeches, not Mein Kampf. I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I'm not Jewish," Davis said.
Trump later in the magazine interview returned to the topic of Hitler's book sitting at his bedside. "If I had these speeches, and I am not saying that I do, I would never read them."
Newsweek reached out to Scarborough's show as well as the White House for additional remarks Monday afternoon.
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
Benjamin Fearnow is a reporter based out of Newsweek's New York City offices. He was previously at CBS and Mediaite ... Read more
