Joe Scarborough made an impassioned plea to Democrats to "roll up their sleeves and go after" President Trump or watch him win reelection in 2020.
The MSNBC host was reacting to the Mueller hearing and an op-ed in the National Review which argued that Democrats will not defeat Trump in 2020 without "throwing a punch."
"All along, Democrats were hoping the special counsel would do their dirty work. It’s the same mistake all of Trump’s opponents have made," wrote Michael Brendan Daugherty.
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He concluded in the piece, "And aggression is not the natural language of our political class. Our politicians call for regime change, as if war were a matter of switching office holders. Trump threatened countries with fire, fury and annihilation. Cory Booker said last week “my testosterone sometimes makes me want to feel like punching” Donald Trump. And in that completely bizarre, and entirely non-credible threat is the Democrats’ problem heading into 2020. They sometimes feel like fighting. But I suspect they never will."
Scarborough wholeheartedly agreed, arguing he's been calling for similar tactics ever since Trump defeated a crowded Republican field in 2016.
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"You've got to get in his face, you've got to smother him politically. ... I'm dead serious. ... If you want to stop Donald Trump, it is time to ... roll up your sleeves and go after him and do whatever it takes to win. If you don't do that, you'll have Donald Trump for four more years," he said, as co-host and wife Mika Brzezinski agreed.
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Scarborough said Republicans like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush failed to effectively fight back against Trump's personal attacks, including against Cruz's father and wife.
The former Florida Republican congressman said if he were attacked by Trump in such a way, he'd have reacted differently and dedicated himself to "turning [Trump's] political bones to dust."
"And when I turn it to dust, at that point, I'm then gonna spit on it and then I'm gonna sweep it off the stage and make sure nobody remembers you other than for being the mean clown that you are. I'm sorry to scare children this morning, but I'm talking about a mindset," he said to laughs from the panel.