"Not deranged to fear this": Scarborough urges voters to take Trump at his word

The MSNBC host told Bill Maher that "Trump Derangement Syndrome" is a natural response to the former president

Published October 19, 2024 1:11PM (EDT)

Joe Scarborough speaks at the Global Citizen NOW Summit at The Glasshouse on April 28, 2023 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Joe Scarborough speaks at the Global Citizen NOW Summit at The Glasshouse on April 28, 2023 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

Joe Scarborough doesn't see anything wrong in being a little freaked out by what Donald Trump's campaign is promising.

During a Friday night stop by "Real Time with Bill Maher" the MSNBC host said that he knows people might write him off over perceived bias, urging that they instead take the former president at his word.

“I don’t want people to listen to me, I don’t want them to listen to you, I don’t want them to listen to anybody,” the former Republican congressman from Florida said. “I want them to listen to what Donald Trump says.”

While former President Barack Obama was happy to poke fun at Trump's ramblings as incoherent "word salad" in recent stump speeches, Scarborough saw nothing funny in what Trump tells crowds. He railed against Trump's recent assertion that he would sic the military on dissenters if he were allowed back into office, something that Trump opponent Kamala Harris also touched on in a recent, contentious interview with Fox News.

“This past week, Trump said he was going to use the military and the National Guard to arrest his political opponents," Scarborough shared. He was asked if he would back off of that, he said no. And in fact, he doubled down.”

“I would just like to say to my Republican friends that it’s not deranged to fear this, it’s not deranged to find this alarming,” he added.

The television host is feeling the heat from Trump, who has threatened broadcasters who share news stories that he doesn't like. Following a "60 Minutes" interview with Harris — an opportunity that was extended to Trump that he declined — the former president said the network should lose its broadcast license.

"CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS – and maybe even WORSE!" he wrote on Truth Social. 

Watch Scarborough's comments below:

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