Like most programs on MSNBC, “Morning Joe” is good for little more than throwing out red meat conspiracy theories to their woke base and unintentionally causing howls of laughter to erupt amongst the conservatives whose intelligence they insult on a daily basis.

Their Friday episode was no exception, except in this case the subject matter was talk of a possible GOP presidential primary match-up between former President Donald Trump, who has already declared he’s running, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is rumored to be considering tossing his hat into the ring.

Up until a few months ago, DeSantis and Trump seemed to be on good terms and were shooting down talk of a feud. But a series of swipes taken at DeSantis by Trump in late 2022 have The Usual Suspects salivating over the possibility that the two will come face to face on a primary debate stage where verbal blows will be exchanged.

On the Friday show, co-host Joe Scarborough speculated that DeSantis really didn’t want to run in 2024 because he was afraid of how bruised he’d supposedly get by Trump. Scarborough further explained what he thought was DeSantis’ thinking by suggesting that DeSantis preferred in so many words to let the Trump phenomena pass in the 2024 presidential election cycle so that the one after that would be free and clear for him:

“My guess is, just all of this talking right now, my guess is, DeSantis says ‘Wait a second, why do I go to the meat grinder that chewed up and spit out sixteen Republicans politically? Why don’t I let Trump run again? I’ll serve out my term. I’ll end up with, ya know, 80% approval ratings among Republicans. And then, in ’26, I just open my presidential campaign and I don’t even have to take on the champ.’ I think that’s probably what he’s thinking in Tallahassee because I think he knows he does not want to cross Donald Trump on the debate stage.”

Watch:

Looks like DeSantis will run in ’24 pic.twitter.com/7mJ5VMvIZJ

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 20, 2023

This is what I call “wishcasting” for a couple of reasons. Number one, Scarborough absolutely hates DeSantis and has repeatedly demonstrated that he doesn’t get him or his methods, like at all. I mean,  the only “connection” the two really have is that they both live in Florida. That’s pretty much it.

Secondly – and more importantly – this is Joe Scarborough saying he wants DeSantis to stay out of Trump’s way, because nothing would be better for “Morning Joe”s standing among the cocktail circuit elite than to have Trump back in the Oval Office, as that would give Joe and sidekick/wife Mika Brzezinski another opportunity to pretend, as they did for four years, that they have the moral high ground when it comes to all things Trump.

The problem, though, is that they have no such moral high ground to stand on, considering they are two prominent media figures who repeatedly helped promote Trump and his 2016 campaign with gushfest after gushfest–including a meeting among the three in Trump’s hotel room and repeated on-air flirtations between Mika and Trump:

Trump one year in, we take a look at the stars who made Trump President!

One of the first names that come to mind, @JoeNBC and @morningmika. pic.twitter.com/5r2HhSkAX6

— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) January 21, 2018

In short, like many others in the media, “Morning Joe” can’t quit Trump – and they want him back. It’s just as simple as that. What Joe Scarborough talked about in that segment wasn’t Ron DeSantis’ thinking – it was Joe Scarborough’s.

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