Don Lemon criticizes Morning Joe for promoting 'civility' with Trump: "Smile in their f---ing face"

On Friday, Don Lemon of CNN and Joe Scarborough of MSNBC had a heated argument on MSNBC about whether people should be "civil" with the incoming Trump administration.

After the host praised former President Barack Obama for being friendly with President-elect Donald Trump at former President Jimmy Carter's funeral, Michael Steele, the former RNC chair, had a heated argument with Scarborough.

Steele remarked, "You often mention that 78 million people voted for Donald Trump, but 82 million people voted for Joe Biden. It's important to remember that civility is a two-way street."

During the tense exchange, Scarborough responded by saying, "Share something that's unknown to us."

On Friday, Scarborough criticized Trump for being a fascist and a threat to democracy, and accused him of being a hypocrite for preaching civility after months of calling him such.

If someone disrespects my loved one, I don't have to smile in their face. And they're going to know it. These are the very same people who have called Michelle Obama a man. I'm not smiling in your face if you're calling my sister, mother, wife, or girlfriend a man. F--k you! Lemon said.

He questioned, "If they appear to agree publicly, what does it imply about the larger societal structure?"

After their first meeting with Trump in seven years, "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have been subjected to months of criticism from the left.

In a November column titled "Five reasons Democrats should avoid 'Morning Joe,'" Washington Post's media critic Eric Wemple criticized the hosts.

What is the reason for setting aside a segment of "Morning Joe" for a quasi-revelation? Is it to convey a message to MSNBC's resistance community that they may not enjoy the content on the program in the future? Could it be possible that the ratings dip at "Morning Joe" following Monday's announcement was caused by the resistance community?

Scarborough received a lecture from Lemon on how he should cover the incoming administration.

Lemon stated that it is not normal to grin with someone who has been labeled a fascist for the past few years, and the American people need to be informed of this. He added that people are becoming increasingly tired of this behavior being normalized.

Lemon did not hold back when expressing his views on Trump and his supporters. In a December podcast episode, he referred to Trump as a "cult leader" and some of his voters as "dumb f—king idiots" with "stupid MAGA brain."

In a later episode, Lemon maintained his stance on his remarks, referring to his detractors as "butthurt" and telling those who were offended to "tough luck."