‘Stop Posing for the President!’ Joe Scarborough Slams FCC Chair for ‘Embarrassing’ Threats Over Media’s ‘Tough’ Iran Questions

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough mocked Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr as “posing for” President Donald Trump with his “embarrassing” warning to networks “asking tough questions” over the war with Iran.

Carr had issued a warning to broadcasters over the weekend, suggesting stations that run what he called “fake news” could face consequences when their licenses come up for renewal, echoing complaints from Trump about media reporting on the conflict.

The post echoed the president, after he lashed out at major publications, accusing The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal of spreading “misleading” reporting about damage to tanker aircraft following a strike in Saudi Arabia linked to the broader conflict.

The threat also followed a tense Pentagon briefing Friday during which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly berated CNN over its questioning of the administration’s military claims about operations related to Iran.

On Monday’s Morning Joe, Scarborough framed the confrontation as part of a long history of governments clashing with journalists during wartime, warning that attempts to intimidate reporters risk undermining public trust in the military itself.

“When I hear this from Pete Hegseth, and I know he acts like a child, that’s me, not you, but when I hear this from Pete Hegseth or anybody else in the administration, they obviously don’t remember the severe, lasting generational damage that all the lies coming from the Pentagon during the Vietnam War, how long it took our United States military to recover for that,” Scarborough said.

He added: “I’m not suggesting that we’re getting the same amount of lies from this Pentagon or from this administration. I’m just saying the ignorance even of people like [former Bush White House Press Secretary] Ari Fleischer who go out and say, ‘how dare anybody write anything bad about our military? You’re almost rooting against America.’ All of those people know better. The press is doing its job. End of story.”

Panelist David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist, acknowledged the pressures leaders face during wartime, saying there was nothing “tougher” than being a “president trying to command a war that’s not going the way you want.”

But he added that “blaming the press happens in every war,” arguing that journalists must remain “skeptical.”

Scarborough agreed, arguing that critical reporting ultimately serves the public and the military: “Well, and by asking the tough questions, who are we helping? People say, ‘Oh, you’re helping him.’ No, we’re not helping the enemy. We’re helping our men and women in uniform. We’re holding their leaders to account, holding them to account that they’re telling the American people the truth, they’re being transparent about what our long-term objectives are, and they’re being transparent about where we are in the middle of this war.”

He then addressed Carr directly: “And I just say to Brendan Carr, Brendan, I’ve never met you before, but just please, you’re only hurting yourself when you’re talking about punishing TV stations or networks because of a Wall Street Journal article. And I mean this, I’m not being sarcastic: Just please stop! There will be a time when this administration is over and you don’t want all of this following you the rest of your life. It’s just embarrassing. So do your job, all right? Stop posing. Stop posing for the president. You know that’s not going to help you in the long term either. It’s just an embarrassment.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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