Florida governor kicked off 'Morning Joe' after dodging questions about Trump's latest inflammatory statement
AP Photo/Chase Stevens
Gov. Rick Scott of Florida was kicked off of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday after he refused to directly answer a question about GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
After the governor said he would not endorse any candidate before Tuesday's Florida primary, host Joe Scarborough asked Scott about Trump's comment the day before that "Islam hates us."
"Do you think that Muslims in the state of Florida hate America?" Scarborough said.
Scott dodged the question.
"Well, as you know in Florida we're the best melting pot in the world," he said.
"After the Paris bombings I did ask the federal government to not allow any more Syrian refugees to come into Florida until we vetted them," he continued. "I'm still concerned that the federal government is not vetting them, but that's what my concern is."
Scarborough cut Scott off at the end of his answer.
"Just asking generally, do you think that Muslims hate Americans, that Islam hates America as Donald Trump said last night?" he asked.
Scott then went into another answer that began in a similar way as his previous one, talking about his home state. But then Scarborough and cohost Mika Brzezinski cut him off.
"We're friends — I want you to answer the question," Scarborough said. "Do you personally think that Islam is a religion that hates America?"
"We have a lot of Muslims that live in our state, we have a lot of Latin Americans that live in our state, we all get along," Scott responded as Brzezinski called for the show's producer to cut the segment.
Scott then added that Trump and his fellow candidates could "talk about the things" they "want to talk about."
Brzezinski, increasingly annoyed with Scott's deflections, gave the governor one final chance to give a direct answer.
"Rick, Rick, Rick, I know you and Joe are friends, and this is kind of awkward," she said. "Can you answer the question, or should we scoot?"
AP Photo/Chase StevensScott didn't, and then the segment ended.
Scott has been rumored to be considered as a potential running mate for Trump since Scott wrote a gushing op-ed article in USA Today in January.
Trump sparked a national firestorm in December when, after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, he proposed that the US temporarily bar all Muslims tourists and immigrants from entering the US.
A month earlier, Trump seemed open to some kind of database for Muslim Americans, but he later distanced himself from the idea.
"We have to be very careful," he said on CNN Wednesday. "And we can't allow people coming into this country who have this hatred of the United States and of people that are not Muslim."
Watch the uncomfortable exchange below:
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