Joe Scarborough says keeping Biden as Democratic nominee is ‘not going to end well’

MSNBC’s Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough has done an about-face on his support for President Joe Biden , calling on the Democratic Party to “step up” and help the president “do the right thing.”

Scarborough, a major critic of former President Donald Trump , made his statement on Thursday, a day after the president tested positive for COVID-19 . The MSNBC host contended that keeping Biden as the Democratic nominee is “not going to end well” for the party, citing concerns from some Democrats that Biden could drag down the party’s attempts to win House and Senate races.

“It’s really incumbent on people that are around Joe Biden to step up at this point and help the president and help the man they love and do the right thing,” Scarborough said. “This is not going to end well if it continues to drag out.”

Scarborough added that there is anger at keeping Biden within the race, with this anger directed at people keeping the president “in a bubble.” He added that these people are probably financially motivated, and that the anger directed toward these people is “widespread.”

Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski encouraged the Democratic Party to “get it together,” though stated that she trusts Biden’s abilities. She also said she trusts Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “political acumen.”

A recent report citing two people close to Pelosi stated that the California lawmaker spoke with Biden last week and expressed concern he could drag down the Democratic ticket. She also warned that other Democratic lawmakers could become more vocal in their concern with keeping Biden on the presidential ticket.

Since the first presidential debate, Biden has appeared on MSNBC several times. He slammed “media elites” and “Hollywood moguls” for asking him to bow out during an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe and bristled when asked about his debate performance in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, reiterating his claim that he had "a bad, bad night."

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Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, prompting him to cancel a speech he had been intending to give at the UnidosUS annual conference. The president had previously said that he would consider dropping out of the presidential race if his medical staff diagnosed him with a new condition or disease that would make continuing to run impossible.

Wednesday also saw Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) call on Biden to bow out of the 2024 race , making him one of the biggest names in the Democratic Party to make this call. Schiff is currently running in the 2024 California Senate race.