Scarborough announces he’s leaving the GOP

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican Party, the “Morning Joe” host and former GOP congressman announced Tuesday night.

“I am a Republican, but I’m not going to be a Republican anymore,” Scarborough told host Stephen Colbert during an appearance on “The Late Show.”

The former Florida GOP congressman said he was going to become an Independent.

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His announcement comes after President Trump launched an attack on Scarborough and “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski in late June.

Trump went after Brzezinski’s appearance, saying that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” when she and Scarborough visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on New Year’s Eve.

The “Morning Joe” duo fought back, saying that White House staff told them that Trump would have a tabloid story run about them unless they “begged” for it to be killed. Scarborough said he had evidence to back these claims but that he wouldn’t release it.

Trump was once a regular guest on “Morning Joe,” when the co-hosts were accused of having a cozy relationship with the then-candidate during the GOP presidential primary. But the relationship soured, and Trump began feuding with the MSNBC hosts.

The Republican National Committee also targeted the show in May, calling it “the worst case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Updated at 8:09 p.m.