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What’s The Deal With The ‘Cold Case’ Trump Referenced In ‘Extraordinarily Cruel’ Attack On Joe Scarborough?
Amid the nation's crippling COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump resurrected an old and debunked conspiracy theory that dates back to Joe Scarborough's time in Congress.
President Donald Trump went on a Monday morning tirade against "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough, resurrecting an old conspiracy theory about the TV personality's time in Congress.
"'Concast' should open up a long overdue Florida Cold Case against Psycho Joe Scarborough," Trump tweeted Monday, referencing MSNBC's parent company Comcast. "I know him and Crazy Mika well, used them beautifully in the last Election, dumped them nicely, and will state on the record that he is “nuts”. Besides, bad ratings!"
Trump was referencing the death of Lori Klausutis, a 28-year-old intern for then-U.S. Rep. Scarborough. Klausutis was found dead at her desk in 2001 at Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach, Florida office.
An autopsy determined that Klausutis had an undiagnosed heart condition which caused her to pass out and hit her head on her desk as she fell, according to The Associated Press.
The coroner concluded the death was accidental and foul play wasn't involved, according to The Washington Post.
Despite this, Trump has referenced Klausutis' death multiple times in tweets attacking Scarborough for criticizing his administration and frequent social media outbursts.
Scarborough responded on his show Monday, saying Trump was being "extraordinarily cruel" to Klausutis' family by bringing up her death for a personal attack.
“You, once again, drag a family through this and make them relive it again, just like Seth Rich’s parents. As if losing a loved one the first time isn’t enough,” Scarborough said on "Morning Joe," according to media monitor Mediaite. “But this weekend, my God, you were supposed to have a working weekend. You got it wrong again.”
Scarborough was referencing the 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Rich's death in an apparent robbery-gone-wrong has also spawned a number of unproven conspiracy theories, according to National Public Radio.
Scarborough then suggested that Trump should "take a rest" from the presidency and let Vice President Mike Pence take over, critiquing Trump's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"You need to take a rest. You need to let Mike Pence actually run things for the next couple of weeks. Come back when you’re feeling a little better and when you can really actually focus on your job. You just can’t do that right now. Americans are dying every day because of it," Scarborough said.
