David Jolly didn’t mince words in a recent appearance on MSNBC when he critiqued how Democrats and media figures approach President-elect Donald Trump.
His pointed comments seemed aimed, at least in part, at his network colleagues Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Their decision to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago shortly after his election drew Jolly’s ire—and he made his objections clear.
Let’s break it down. Jolly opened by saying Democrats and their allies weren’t frustrated because they were wrong; they were frustrated because they believed they were right and yet found themselves on the losing side.
He then questioned how the party, the media, and voters should move forward responsibly. For Jolly, that didn’t mean cozying up to Trump or giving him the benefit of the doubt.
“No, that’s absolutely wrong,” he declared, addressing the idea of meeting Trump on his own turf. “You have to hold Donald Trump accountable for being wrong. You have to hold all of his allies accountable, even if that means you’re in a losing environment.”
Here’s where things get spicy. Scarborough and Brzezinski, long-standing Trump critics, had publicly discussed their meeting with Trump, framing it as an effort to engage rather than simply criticize from the sidelines.
Brzezinski even defended the decision during a podcast interview, saying fear motivated their actions—fear over issues like abortion and Trump’s incendiary rhetoric about political opponents. She described the meeting as a step toward understanding and addressing those concerns.
Jolly wasn’t buying it. Instead, he urged Democrats to dig in and keep Trump accountable, no matter the cost. “The only answer is to double down in holding Donald Trump and his allies accountable,” he said.
Scarborough and Brzezinski’s approach suggests a belief that dialogue, even with someone as polarizing as Trump, could lead to progress. But Jolly’s stance reflects a growing divide within liberal and progressive circles: should Trump’s critics engage and seek common ground, or remain firmly on the offensive?