MSNBC's "Morning Joe" set a record for its highest-rated show ever Friday, one day after President Donald Trump sent out a series of scathing tweets against the hosts, Forbes reported Wednesday.
The episode was watched by 1.66 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings, which was a 66.5 percent boost from the second quarter average of 997,000 viewers. It also beat out "Fox & Friends," which usually is the highest rated show in the time slot.
Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who are engaged, had originally not planned to host the Friday show that broke the ratings record, but they postponed their vacations in order to discuss the president's attacks against them, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Trump had sent a number of tweets attacking the pair, including insulting the intelligence of Brzezinski and saying she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" while visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, around New Year's Eve, The Hill reported.
Congressmen from both parties, as well as other news networks, condemned Trump's remarks for being beneath the dignity of the office of the presidency. However, the White House defended the president's right to fight back against his critics.
During his tweets against the show, Trump said "Morning Joe" was suffering from poor ratings.
However, even before Friday's show, the show had shown an increase in viewership.
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