WATCH Morning Joe’s Awkward Standoff Over Police Reform and Guns: ‘We’re Gonna Need a Marriage Counselor’

Things got awkward on the set of Morning Joe, as the married co-hosts sparred over police and gun reform in an awkward segment in which “marriage counseling” was jokingly introduced

If you’re a regular cable news watcher, you might remember that Morning Joe used to be a place where you could expect tense but engaging political conversations before the world was forced into remote set-ups because of the coronavirus pandemic. On the very day that the show returned in-studio again as the world comes back to life, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski fell into a dramatic exchange that might feel like a blast from the past for some.

Wednesday’s episode featured a panel discussion on crimes committed by people who illegally purchase guns. Steve Rattner introduced the question of “why are murder rates going up now?” to which Scarborough responded “people don’t want to know the answer…I give them the answer and they get really mad. So we just won’t give it. You know why. We won’t answer them.”

Brzezinski then commented on the “awkward” situation from her husband and co-host, and that led to an uncomfortable exchange where they kept cutting each other off.

“Nobody wants to hear this,” Scarborough said.

“I do wanna hear it in context,” Brzezinski countered.

“You’re not letting me say it,” Scarborough said. Brzezinski sighed at that moment while Scarborough commented on how this banter was reminiscent of Morning Joe when they were in-studio on a regular basis.

“This is retro Morning Joe!” Scarborough said, with Willie Geist agreeing as he shouted “we’re back!”

The show managed to get back on track as the panel ran through a myriad of topics related to police reform. As the segment wrapped though, Brzezinski commented “if we don’t go to break, we’re gonna need a marriage counselor in the morning.”

“Mika, you were triggered” Scarborough retorted, though they all still seemed glad to be back in each others’ presence.

While the banter was at times awkward, it was mostly joking in nature.

Though you know what Geoffrey Chaucer famously wrote: “many a true word is said in jest!”

Watch above, via MSNBC.