(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Gerry Baker brushed off MSNBC hosts “lecturing” his publication for carrying an op-ed by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump’s running mate, on Tuesday.
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough accused the WSJ of “running lies” and publishing “disinformation” Wednesday in reference to Vance’s piece criticizing the Federal Emergency Management Relief for rerouting millions of dollars into nongovernmental organizations working to facilitate illegal migration into the U.S.
“The Wall Street Journal is publishing disinformation that might as well be in The Epoch Times. The fact that it’s from a vice presidential candidate matters not. This is the same man who lied about cats and dogs being eaten when the governor of his own state said stop. When you said there are no standards, this is a perfect example of it,” Scarborough said on his show.
WSJ’s Baker took to Fox News’ America Reports later that morning and blasted the Morning Joe host for daring to criticize the WSJ’s factual credibility, especially after Scarborough insisted relentlessly that President Joe Biden was more than well-equipped to run for president again prior to his July 21 withdrawal.
“To be lectured by MSNBC on disinformation is quite a bit of a chutzpah on their part. Remember, this is the same Joe Scarborough that told us, I think, days or weeks before that infamous presidential debate that saw Joe Biden pull out of the race, that Biden was in incredible shape,” Baker said.
WSJ editor-at-large: To be lectured by MSNBC on disinformation takes quite a bit of chutzpah
Wall Street Journal editor-at-large Gerry Baker responds on ‘America Reports’ to Joe Scarborough's allegations about WSJ spreading disinformation by running a JD Vance op-ed on the… pic.twitter.com/W3RsS51ecs— * Casper * (@CHEEZIT1350) October 10, 2024
Trump exposed Biden’s cognitive decline during a June CNN debate that sent left-leaning media outlet in a frenzy over the president’s ability to serve a second term.
Prominent Democrats including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reportedly worked behind the scenes to convince Biden to drop out, citing down-ballot congressional races as their primary concern.
“He also attacked the Wall Street Journal article which had just said Joe Biden was slipping. ‘He is as sharp as he’s ever been. He’s brilliant.’ And of course, weeks later, we saw what Biden was like, and another month later, he pulled out of the race,” Baker told Fox News co-hosts. “We don’t need that kind of lecturing.”
Axios revealed in February that Biden has a personal relationship with Scarborough, who he reportedly communicates with to “vent about media coverage,” people familiar with the relationship claimed.
The President was reported by Axios to be a frequent viewer of Morning Joe. Biden has “consorted” with the program’s regular guests, including foreign policy expert Mike Barnacle and historian John Meacham. The outlet noted that Meacham has “assisted on several Biden speeches.”
Vice President Kamala Harris also watches Morning Joe, according to Axios’ report. She hosted a dinner with Scarborough and Mika Brzezenski, his co-host and wife, in January.
Baker said on America Reports that it is too early to know for sure whether FEMA “messed up.” He added that “interesting questions” have emerged relating to FEMA’s priorities.
“I remember such weather in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans particularly hard, and I was down there for a week afterwards. And initial reactions, especially from the media because George W. Bush was president was ‘oh, my God, this is a disaster and FEMA is a disaster and the federal government has failed.’ We learned actually afterwards, you know, there were many more problems on the ground there, that FEMA actually did a great job,” Baker said.
“It certainly wasn’t that bad, so I think it is too soon to say FEMA has messed up.”
Vance’s op-ed noted that the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized allowing illegal migrants into the U.S. since the Democratic duo entered the White House in 2021. He cited examples of the agency’s prioritization of LGBT panels granting “some groups special treatment” and called on the federal government to “[get] its act together.”
“The effort stems from a White House directive to reorient FEMA’s institutional focus away from U.S. citizens and toward aliens who either have no legal right to be here or whose legal status depends on the say-so of the Biden-Harris administration,” Vance wrote of FEMA’s lackluster funding for Hurricane Helene victims.
Baker concluded, “It may not be actually true that FEMA resources that could have been available in North Carolina had been given to migrants. But there’s no question about the broader orientation of FEMA under the Biden-Harris administration, which is to channel huge amounts of money to communities and to non-government organizations to help with the massive influx of migrants that they themselves have created.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer also published by the Daily Caller and The Federalist. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
