I’ve been posting since the New Hampshire primary on the uncomfortably cozy relationship MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have with Donald Trump. To this point it has been conjecture: visiting Trump’s hotel room on primary night in New Hampshire, Trump’s multiple call-in interviews with them, the bootlicking at Trump’s MSNBC sponsored town hall, etc. (stories here.)

Now something more unsettling has surfaced. A “hot mike” has captured the two hosts and Trump negotiating, off air, over questions. Via TPM.

The pertinent part starts at around 21:20. Listening to much more than that could give you permanent brain damage.

In the clip, host Mika Brzezinski can be heard talking about which questions she should ask Trump. It’s not clear from the audio to whom she is directing her question.

“You don’t want me to do the ones—with deportation?” Brzezinski said.

After some cross-talk, co-host Joe Scarborough said, “We really have to get you some questions.”

“That’s right, nothing too hard Mika,” Trump interjected.

“Okay,” Brzezinski said.

A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment to TPM.

None of this makes you say, “Wow, I never thought of this before?” It is rather difficult to imagine any lefty interviewed on MSNBC not getting the same treatment. The larger issue here, as I’ve posted on before, is that Scarborough is a small, non-progressive piece of MSNBC’s plantation and it is also the piece with some of the best ratings. The left is trying to create a huge stink and have Scarborough replaced. Quite honestly, I really don’t care. Donald Trump has metastasized because networks are more interested in the ratings he brings than in doing their job. It is a sad commentary that a journalist would glom onto someone like Trump for the sake of their ratings and getting caught at it gets no sympathy from me.