The following article by Callum Borchers was posted on the Washington Post website February 15, 2017:
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” say they won’t invite White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on their show because she doesn’t provide reliable information. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski said Wednesday that she refuses to book Kellyanne Conway on “Morning Joe” — and that wasn’t even the harshest thing Brzezinski and co-host Joe Scarborough said about the counselor to the president.
“We know for a fact she tries to book herself on this show,” Brzezinski said. “I won’t do it, ‘cuz I don’t believe in fake news or information that is not true. And that is — every time I’ve ever seen her on television, something’s askew, off or incorrect.”
The declaration that Conway is not welcome on “Morning Joe” is not very surprising. When CNN refused to put the former Trump campaign manager on its Sunday political talk show earlier this month, Brzezinksi tweeted that CNN was “not the first.” Wednesday marked the first time that she revealed a blanket ban on appearances by Conway, however.
. @KellyannePolls was offered to SOTU on Sunday by the White House. We passed. Those are the facts.
.@CNNPR @KellyannePolls you are not the first.
Even more damning than their blacklisting of Conway was the way the “Morning Joe” hosts characterized her — as an attention seeker who texts TV producers in a constant effort to get on air, so she can speak for a White House where she actually isn’t in the know.
“She’s in none of the key meetings,” Scarborough said. “She goes out and books herself often. … I don’t even think she’s saying something that she knows to be untrue. She’s just saying things, just to get in front of the TV set and prove her relevance because behind the scenes — behind the scenes, she’s not in these meetings.”
Without making an explicit reference, Brzezinski and Scarborough offered a description of Conway that recalled her character on the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live.” In the sketch, Conway (Kate McKinnon) stalks CNN anchor Jake Tapper (Beck Bennett) and holds a knife to his throat until he agrees to let her back on television.
The Conway caricature on “SNL” is desperate to be on TV, and the real-life Conway is, too, according to “Morning Joe.”
The Washington Post reported last month that Conway turned down the role of White House press secretary. Conway told The Post at the time that she hoped to limit her TV appearances and focus more on shaping policy.
Yet the White House has continued to use her as a spokeswoman, and she has at times seemed in the dark about major decisions. On Monday afternoon, for instance, she told reporters that Michael Flynn had “the full confidence of the president.” Less than an hour later, White House press secretary Sean Spicer contradicted her when he said that Trump was “evaluating the situation.” Flynn resigned as national security adviser that night.