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MS NOW host Joe Scarborough told Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday that former President Joe Biden's staff used to let him know when the then-president was watching "Morning Joe" — and urged him to not be too hard on him.
"And I would hear from the chiefs of staff that worked for him," Scarborough said. "'Be nice to the president. Because when you’re critical, well, it kind of screws up our day.'"
Scarborough said the requests did not influence how he approached his job.
"The thing is, whether I was talking about Joe Biden or talking about what Donald Trump’s doing, my goal is your goal, which I think is everybody’s goal. We want a better country," he said.
BIDEN PRAISES LATE-NIGHT HOSTS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST TRUMP 'KNOWING THEIR CAREERS ARE ON THE LINE'
Joe Biden speaks during a conference of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) at the Sofitel Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, on April 15, 2025. Joe Scarborough attends the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Tannen Maury/AFP via Getty Images; John Nacion/Getty Images)
Scarborough also said that Trump likely watches his show, telling Kimmel he spoke to the president after his call with Gov. Tim Walz about Minneapolis.
"I said, ‘Listen.’ And I don’t usually do this. I just called him up. I said, ‘If you don’t mind, off the record, tell me about the call.’ He told me about the call. And I said, Mr. President, I think it’s a good thing for Americans to see you and Tim Walz and the mayor of Minneapolis talking to each other. We need more of that," Scarborough said.
The MS NOW host said Biden was "the best Biden ever" during a March 2024 episode of "Morning Joe," on then-MSNBC, despite concerns throughout the former president's term about his fitness and ability to serve.
"I've said it for years now, he's cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent. He's far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he's better than he's ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he's been around for 50 years," Scarborough said at the time. "Start your tape right now, because I’m about to tell you the truth. And F you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever."
Former President Joe Biden talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
After the former president exited the 2024 race and former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump, multiple books came out with insider accounts from the Biden White House and re-election campaign that included bombshell revelations about what staffers reportedly knew about Biden's health.
Scarborough admitted in May 2025 that he was "obviously wrong" about Biden being the best ever, but that he was just going off of what he saw in his own interactions.
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Biden's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
