MSNBC's Joe Scarborough believes Republican senators are holding their fire on some of Donald Trump's nominees and are content to watch them trip over their own feet.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) ignited rage in MAGA world and drew GOP primary threats for speaking out against defense nominee Pete Hegseth, and the "Morning Joe" host said other Republicans who object to him and other Trump picks may just sit back and let them accumulate political baggage.
"They think more things are coming out," Scarborough said. "All those senators are saying, 'Why do I have to say anything when gravity is going to do all my work for me?' That's what they're thinking. When you hear them going, 'Let's let the process play out, let's see what happens, we'll wait – process, play out.' It means, 'Yeah, we're just going to sit there and watch him and watch the gravity pull him through with the weight of more things coming out.'"
"This wasn't it?" added co-host Mika Brzezinski. "How could there be more?"
Hegseth weathered an initial wave of damaging stories about his alleged drinking and sexual misconduct, but his nomination and those of some other controversial nominees remain uncertain – even if Republicans have learned from Ernst's example and are keeping their skepticism more low-key.
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"It seems everybody's taken the, let's wait and see [approach]," Scarborough said. "'No need to have anyone screaming at us and our staff members over Christmas holiday, saying we're not going to support a Trump pick. Let's let the FBI investigations, let's let the further newspaper investigations take its course, and then, you know, you'll see people like, probably, [Lisa] Murkowski, [Susan] Collins, who has to win in a very blue state two years from now, Mitch McConnell, maybe [Bill] Cassidy who voted against impeachment, doing what they'll likely do, especially on Hegseth and [Tulsi] Gabbard."
"That's what was so interesting yesterday, in what Donald Trump said at the end of that statement we played, you know, if you disagree with him, disagree with their policies, if you disagree with them personally for those positions, I get it, which is sort of, I think – it's extraordinarily telling, a lot of space," Scarborough added.
"It's a lot different than what all these outside groups are doing to try to make money on this."
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