It's no secret that the mainstream media can often be partisan depending on who is doing the reporting. In the age of Donald Trump, critics and supporters of the president often clash, which was put on display between MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Sean Hannity of Fox News.
Trump's media war
Even before Donald Trump concluded his campaign announcement speech back in June 2015, he was already at war with the media after the press reacted negatively to his remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico being "murderers" and "rapists." In the two years that have followed, Trump has increased his war on the media, often referring to reports he doesn't agree with as "fake news," and labeling journalists "terrible" people.
While the majority of the media has come down hard on the former host of "The Apprentice," Trump has found a relatively safe space on Fox News, especially with host Sean Hannity. Hannity has made it clear and openly supports Trump and his administration, leading to increased calls of bias in his reporting. Hannity recently came under fire for promoting a debunked conspiracy theory on his show, forcing even Fox News to speak out and retract the story. However, Hanntiy's latest gripe is with Joe Scarborough who hosts "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. After referring to the president as a "schmuck" during his Wednesday broadcast, Scarborough faced criticism from Hannity in a series of June 7 tweets.
Scarborough: Donald Trump is a 'Schmuck' — https://t.co/vXheKiDQBr pic.twitter.com/HlhgQJYJ22
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) June 7, 2017
During a segment on Wednesday, Joe Scarborough spoke with veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt about Donald Trump recently inviting two GOP senators to the White House.
Scarborough accused the president of trying to bribe the senators with food, referring to him as a "schmuck" in the process.
Twitter war
In response to Joe Scarborough's critical comments about Donald Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity decided to sound off on his cable news counterpart. "Poor liberal Joe and Mika continue their daily emotional meltdown.
Hilarious video montage tonight at 10 on Hannity FNC," the host tweeted out.
Poor liberal Joe and Mika continue their daily emotional meltdown. Hilarious video montage tonight at 10 on Hannity FNC https://t.co/WlGQKxfvfU
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 7, 2017
In his reply, Joe Scarborough hit back at Sean Hannity. "Comrade, you have screeched for a decade about how irrelevant I am.
And yet my little Russian friend, you obsess over me endlessly. So sad," Scarborough wrote. In an additional message, the MSNBC host added, "Comrade, your continued obsession with those who refuse to be apparatchiks for Russia suggests resentment and envy. You are obsessed."
Comrade, your continued obsession with those who refuse to be apparatchiks for Russia suggests resentment and envy. You are obsessed. https://t.co/cGXlb4PYiM
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 7, 2017
Comrade, you have screeched for a decade about how irrelevant I am. And yet my little Russian friend, you obsess over me endlessly. So sad. https://t.co/TVHQLQnFQX
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 7, 2017
As of press time, Sean Hannity has written back to Joe Scarborough with a pair of tweets that have since gone unanswered.
"Low rated lib Joe tried to make a funny! Envy Joe? Does Andy and Phil know u begged Fox to hire u for years? That u were 'embarrassed' at MS," Hannity tweeted.
Low rated lib Joe tried to make a funny! Envy Joe? Does Andy and Phil know u begged Fox to hire u for years? That u were "embarrassed" at MS https://t.co/LB8ypVsvEO
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 7, 2017
Lib Joe I get your "embarrassment". Black Helicopter, Tim Foil Hat conspiracy theories! U sucked up to Obama and now call DT a "schmuck" WOW https://t.co/LB8ypVsvEO
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 7, 2017
"Lib Joe I get your 'embarrassment'. Black Helicopter, Tim Foil Hat conspiracy theories! U sucked up to Obama and now call DT a 'schmuck' WOW," Sean Hannity added in a follow-up tweet. After just five months in office, Donald Trump is already causing cable news hosts to cross enemy lines and fight with each other over his presidency.