MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough had some rare praise for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday following the passage of the foreign aid bill that would provide funding for Ukraine.
In recent days, the Morning Joe crew have been ardent critics of Johnson, especially over the border bill that was killed at the direction of former President Donald Trump. But Scarborough recognized the risks Johnson took by working with House Democrats and shirking the far-right members of his own party to do what was “the best hope” of ending the war in Ukraine:
Scarborough: [A]s we learned during Donald Trump’s administration, being told the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do doesn’t always lead leaders in this age of Trump to doing it. Again, very grateful that Mike Johnson listened and came out, did the right thing, made his own decision, put his job on the line–
Brzezinski: What do we call that?
Scarborough: That’s courage.
Brzezinski: Profile in courage.
Scarborough: In this case that’s courage. Applause going up along the Ukrainian line, the Russian invaders enraged that America was still there to fight. But, you know, I will say, the speaker also, I’ve got to say again, had [House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)] behind him, [House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)], had other Republican chairmen who kept stressing the importance, not just of pushing back on Russia, but pushing back on [Chinese President Xi Jinping], and pushing back on Kim Jong Un, and pushing back on the mullahs in Iran, and showing them through supporting our allies who are under duress that America will be there. Message sent across the world on Saturday. Can’t overstate.
Speaker Johnson has been a regular target of ridicule by the MSNBC morning show, but on this day, he was treated like a proper hero.
Watch the video above via MSNBC.
