Carlos Bastarache: joe-scarborough-trump-tweets-murder-jpg.jpeg

Getty Image

Between retweeting anti-Muslim videos propagated by a far-right British group and gloating about Matt Lauer’s firing from Today, Donald Trump’s Wednesday morning tweets were all over the place. Yet the chance to suggest everyone at NBC News and Comcast “be fired for putting out so much Fake News” was only the beginning, for the president quickly set his sights on Morning Joe co-anchor Joe Scarborough, a favorite punching bag of his. “And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the “unsolved mystery” that took place in Florida years ago?” he exclaimed. “Investigate!”

So now that Matt Lauer is gone when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin? And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the “unsolved mystery” that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017

Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump's bizarre tweets. He is not well. https://t.co/XJhW5ZHNfs

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) November 29, 2017

“Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump’s bizarre tweets,” Scarborough remarked. “He is not well.” The so-called “unsolved mystery” in Florida that Trump made a passing reference to was that of Lori Klausutis’s death in 2001. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the young Scarborough staffer was found dead in the then-congressman’s office. The medical examiner at the time determined, “Klausutis… lost consciousness because of an abnormal heart rhythm and fell, hitting her head on a desk. The head injury caused the death.” Police also “said there was (sic) no signs of foul play or outward indication of suicide.”

Even so, the case of Klausutis’s death has been a source of rampant speculation for conspiracy theory websites and outlets. And considering Trump’s well-documented penchant for digesting and repeating such material, that he would reference the story to jab at Scarborough comes as no surprise. Even so, that didn’t stop the MSNBC personality’s fellow political commentators and other journalists from commenting on the president’s apparent accusation.

Donald Trump just accused Joe Scarborough of murder. Let that sink in.

— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) November 29, 2017

So far Donald Trump today…

– Retweeted three videos from an alt-right site
– Said to boycott CNN
– Accused Joe Scarborough of murder
– Possible nuclear war

It’s not even fucking 10am yet!

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) November 29, 2017

Asked the White House if President Trump would sit down with me to discuss his allegations against Joe Scarborough. "The President is not available for an interview," responds Hope Hicks.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) November 29, 2017

Just now processing that falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder may have been one of the more responsible things that the President tweeted this morning

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 29, 2017

Trump’s decision to obsess over Matt Lauer and Joe Scarborough instead of selling his tax cuts and repeating that GDP growth in the last quarter was 3.3% is an interesting one.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) November 29, 2017

If Trump gets Joe Scarborough put away for murder because his morning gabfest wasn't nice enough to him he will join the ranks of great American presidents

— Will Menaker (@willmenaker) November 29, 2017