On June 23, 2017, Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” released a music video for “Mystified,” the title of his new EP. TheBlaze reported that the video showed him singing, dancing and playing guitar. It also included a substantial amount of footage of President Donald Trump and of his fiancée and co-host, Mika Brzezinski.
The release drew attention because Scarborough is a network host who was also putting out a creative project, and because of the imagery he chose. TheBlaze described a quick-cut montage of news footage, set to synthesized music, with Scarborough performing in between. The Bangor Daily News described it as a video made to promote a rock album and said it showed images of Trump amid scenes of nuclear war, drug use and riots.
The context: a long-running feud
The video came during a prolonged public dispute between the “Morning Joe” hosts and the president. Axios later compiled a timeline of the exchanges. In June 2016, Trump wrote on Twitter that he no longer watched the program and cited what he called low ratings. In August and September 2016, he posted further criticism of Brzezinski and Scarborough.
The Bangor Daily News wrote that Scarborough had already used a music video to respond to Trump once before, when the feud escalated in August 2016. It said that song had a country-music beat. According to the paper, Scarborough sang and semi-rapped lyrics critical of Trump.
Tension on the program had also continued into 2017. On June 8, 2017, TheWrap reported that Brzezinski said on air that Trump might be “mentally ill in a way.” Scarborough did not echo the remark. TheWrap said he laughed during the exchange.
The video and the “Morning Joe” broadcast
The “Mystified” video was released about a week before a new round of exchanges between the president and the show. On the morning of June 29, 2017, the hosts discussed a Washington Post story about a fake Time magazine cover featuring Trump that had hung in several of his golf clubs. Brzezinski made remarks critical of Trump, which the Bangor Daily News quoted.
Trump then posted tweets calling the program poorly rated and attacking both hosts personally. Fox News and U.S. News & World Report both reported the posts. Brzezinski responded on Twitter a few minutes later with a photo of a box of Cheerios, according to the Bangor Daily News.
RealClearPolitics noted that the original clip of the broadcast it had posted was blocked from YouTube after a copyright claim by NBC. It added that, until Trump commented, there was no way to know whether he had seen the “Mystified” video, which featured him. The Bangor Daily News also noted that the earlier mention of Scarborough’s rock album and video had come the week before.
What followed
On June 30, 2017, Deadline reported that Trump and Scarborough traded posts on Twitter over a National Enquirer story. Scarborough said on air that the White House had suggested the story could be dropped in exchange for an apology. Trump wrote that Scarborough had called him asking that the story be stopped and that he had said no. Scarborough replied on Twitter that the president had repeated a falsehood.
Deadline also printed a statement from the National Enquirer. It said the publication had accurately reported a story in early June about the relationship between Scarborough and Brzezinski, that it had not threatened them or their children, and that it had no knowledge of discussions between the White House and the hosts.
Scarborough has continued to make music. In 2025, MS NOW’s “Morning Mika” featured a song he wrote called “No Guarantees,” which Brzezinski described as both a warning and a song of hope about what was at stake in that year’s presidential election.