MSNBC's Joe Scarborough - a former Republican congressman - says he's leaving the GOP to become an independent

Jonathan Ernst/ReutersJoe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.MSNBC host Joe Scarborough confirmed Tuesday night to Stephen Colbert that he's planning to leave the Republican party.

Scarborough, who was recently in the news after Donald Trump tweeted that his fiancée and "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski was "bleeding badly from a facelift," said that he would be leaving the GOP to become an independent.

"I am a Republican but I'm not going to be a Republican anymore," said Scarborough to applause on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." He added that even before Trump was elected President his party had "betrayed its core values."

Scarborough served in the House of Representatives as a Republican from 1995 to 2001.

Scarborough told Colbert that his disillusion with the GOP increased after key members failed to speak up and denounce racism and violent rhetoric.

"I could never vote for anybody in my party that said they were going to ban people because of the God they worshipped" said Scarborough.

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