MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Monday said President Trump would kill journalists and reporters in a similar manner to authoritarian strongmen around the world if he was able to do so without facing the consequences.
Scarborough was criticizing Trump for his disapproval of the "60 Minutes" interview he conducted with Leslie Stahl, which ended early after a tense back and forth.
"Also, how fascinating that Donald Trump says it’s, quote, 'inappropriate' for Lesley Stahl to ask tough questions, inappropriate to say she is going to ask tough questions. He really did, and it’s just — it’s really fascinating at this point to look how much Donald Trump resembles an autocratic leader from eastern Europe, whether it’s Belarus or whether it’s Russia. Actually, though he kills journalists, Vladimir Putin on camera actually seems a little more willing to answer tough questions when they are asked of him. Donald Trump can’t even handle that. Of course, Donald Trump would kill reporters if he could get away with it," Scarborough claimed.
How many ways can one politician continue offending suburban women voters? Trump keeps breaking the world land speed in this unfortunate category. Did it again here. https://t.co/cUlzUBYIRr
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 26, 2020
"I think even his strongest supporters would admit Trump would do whatever he could get away with. It’s unfortunate for him that he actually is in charge of the executive branch in a country with a Constitution that was written by James Madison and others who actually foresaw the rise of tyrants and figured out a pretty damn good effective way to hold them at bay," he continued.
In response to the interview, the White House released the full interview ahead of the edited version on CBS News.
