Joe Scarborough said on HBO's "Real Time withBill Maher " that theRepublican Party was "unsavable."- Scarborough, who served in the US House as a Republican, now identifies as an independent.
- "What issues does this guy share with conservatives?" Scarborough said of former President Trump.
In 1994, Joe Scarborough was elected to Congress as part of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's Republican revolution, which saw the party make sweeping gains across the country.
During a Friday appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," the conservative-turned-independent MSNBC host of "Morning Joe" rebuked the party that he called home for decades.
Maher was blunt when questioning Scarborough about his political metamorphosis.
"Honestly, tell me about this," Maher asked. "You're an independent now. So, what does that say? To me, it says that you think the Republican Party is unsavable."
Scarborough, a frequent critic of former President
"Unsavable - no doubt about it," replied Scarborough. "It can't be saved."
"I used to get attacked by liberals because I was a conservative; now, I'm getting attacked by people who voted for a fascist because I'm a conservative," he said of Trump. "You know, my friends and my family members, they all voted for him, and it's been hard for me to process it."
He added: "The only way I've been able to come to terms with it is they're not fascists, but they voted for an ignorant man who is a fascist. I don't understand why."
Scarborough then questioned the motivations of voters who continue to express support for the former president.
"I've seen focus groups over the past couple of days of Trump voters who still would support him," he said. "Who say things like, 'I like Donald Trump because of where he stands.' I can't even say it with a straight face - 'on the issues.' Now you tell me, what the f--- does that mean? What issues? What issues does this guy share with conservatives?"
He added: "He undercut all of the allies that [former President Ronald] Reagan championed. He embraced Russia."
Scarborough then lit into Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, calling both men "seditionists" for what he said was their role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
Hawley and Cruz sought to challenge the Electoral College certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 victory, which was heavily criticized after insurrectionists breached the Capitol and five people were killed.
"Cruz and Hawley are seditionists," he argued. "They should be in jail. You can look at the federal statute for inciting sedition, and it seems to me it's what they did."