"I'm not going to be Republican anymore": Joe Scarborough abandons his party over President Trump

Joe Scarborough says he can't be a Republican anymore, and blames Donald Trump for that

Published July 12, 2017 9:30AM (EDT)

 (CBS)
(CBS)

"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough was a tepid supporter of President Donald Trump when he first entered the political arena two years ago. The former GOP congressman had allowed his personal friendship with the real estate mogul to influence his perception of the campaign.

But in the past year and a half, Scarborough began to realize that Trump is not fit for office, something that other Republicans have yet to comprehend. That's why he is leaving the Republican Party all together.

Joined by co-host Mika Brzezinski, Scarborough announced to the world on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Tuesday that he will no longer be a member of the Republican Party.

"I am a Republican, but I am not going to be Republican anymore. I'm going to become an independent," he said.

Scarborough explained that the Republican Party had betrayed its core values.

"I remember back in December 2015 when Donald Trump supported a Muslim ban. I said on the air, it was black and white, I said could never vote for anybody in my party who said they were going to ban because of the god that they worshiped," Scarborugh said.

"It was disturbing throughout the entire campaign," he continued. "In February, when he pretended he didn't know David Duke was and didn't know what the Klu Klux Klan did. You didn't have Republicans coming out saying, 'I could never support for Donald Trump because he is racist.' They would have a thousand other excuses why. But they always overlooked that."

The political pundit also cited the feud between the president and a Hispanic judge from Indiana, whom Trump said could not adjudicate his case fairly because of his heritage.

"You have to ask yourself what exactly is the Republican Party willing to do," Scarborough said. "How far are they willing to go?"

 


By Taylor Link

MORE FROM Taylor Link