Is Donald Trump even trying to win this election anymore?
That’s the question Joe Scarborough asked on Tuesday’s Morning Joe, with the MSNBC host baffled by Trump canceling a 60 Minutes interview and turning down the chance to do another debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Donald Trump is the one who skipped the 60 Minutes interview, first time in 50 years a candidate has done that, and he’s the one who refused to do a debate even on Fox News–even on Fox News!” a bewildered Scarborough said on the show.
“I’ve heard from people inside his campaign, though they’re very careful, a real frustration that they have no idea what this guy is going to do. He doesn’t do the things he should do to win, and they can’t control him at all,” Scarborough went on. “This is just not the behavior of somebody who wants to win an election.”
Whether the MSNBC host believes that means Trump has therefore abandoned his ambitions for a second presidency would, however, appear to be a slightly different question–with Scarborough having claimed only the day before that Trump is “preparing for civil war.”
His comments come after the Trump camp chose not to put their candidate across the stage from his Democratic opponent again after his last debate performance—hailed as a rollicking triumph by the Republican nominee himself, panned as a disaster by others in his party—and as fresh details emerge of his shock withdrawal from a scheduled sit down with CBS.
Historically an almost mandatory fixture of any presidential race, the broadcaster says Trump reneged on his commitment to an interview with 60 Minutes due to an alleged dispute about the program’s fact-checking policies.
“If he is not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful thoughtful conversation, question and answer with you, then watch his rallies,” Harris said in her own, duly-attended one-on-one with the show that aired Monday.
“You’re going to hear conversations that about himself and all of his personal grievances,” the Democratic candidate went on. “What you will not hear is anything about you, the listener. You will not hear about how he is going to try to bring the country together, find common ground.”
