MSNBC's Joe Scarborough denied reports Thursday that he and his "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski have been "aggressively" lobbying NBC executives as replacements for the embattled David Gregory on "Meet the Press."
The
New York Post reported Wednesday that Gregory could be replaced after the November congressional elections.
Gregory, 43, has hosted "Meet the Press" since December 2008, following the death of Tim Russert. He had been NBC's chief White House correspondent since 2001.
Ratings for the venerable "Meet the Press" have been sinking for months, with the program recently finishing third behind "Face the Nation" on CBS and "This Week" on ABC, the Post reports.
In addition, Lloyd Grove of
The Daily Beast disclosed that the MSNBC duo has been "aggressively angling for the job in the event of Gregory’s all-but-certain demise."
"The duo had believed they had an understanding with top news division executives that they would be named co-hosts of the Sunday 'Today' show in addition to their 'Morning Joe' duties," Grove said.
That changed last August when Deborah Turness was named president of NBC News. Turness, who came from ITV News in the United Kingdom, has since expressed support publicly for Gregory.
"They were furious," Grove said, referring to how Scarborough and Brzezinski responded to the change.
Both news reports said that NBC officials were wary of naming Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, to the Sunday news program. It would have given "Meet the Press" a more partisan edge.
Also mentioned in the reports as a possible successor is NBC's current chief White House correspondent, Chuck Todd.
But Scarborough denied such talk in a Twitter posting on Thursday:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.