Morning Joe Links Pastor to Epstein Following Super Bowl Critique

Joe Scarborough, host of ‘Morning Joe,’ criticized Rev. Franklin Graham for his recent comments regarding the Super Bowl halftime show’s alleged over-sexualization.

During his Monday segment on MS NOW, Scarborough accused Graham of deflecting attention from what he called an “immoral corrupt regime” and individuals associated with the “Epstein class.”

Graham, son of the renowned televangelist Billy Graham, had announced to his followers on X that he would be skipping the Super Bowl performance in favor of an alternative show hosted by Turning Point, just days prior.

In his post on Thursday, Graham accused the NFL of promoting a “sexualized agenda” by selecting popular Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny as a performer.

Scarborough responded by highlighting the hypocrisy, noting that Kid Rock, an alternative headliner, has previously praised sexual relationships with underage girls in his lyrics.

Lyrics from the Trump supporter’s 2021 song ‘Cool, Daddy Cool’, are currently going viral for the verse: ‘Young ladies, young ladies, I like him underage, see? Some say that statutory.’

Scarborough, 62, read the lyrics on-air before offering his take.

‘You know the false… just the self-righteousness, the posing – that’s all a sham. All in defense of a corrupt, corrupt regime and an immoral, corrupt regime,’ he said of Franklin.

‘Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough has accused a famed televangelist of running cover for ‘an immoral corrupt regime’ and members of the ‘Epstein class’ on his show Monday

Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of the late Billy Graham, was called out by Scarborough after he told his social media followers that he planned to skip the show to take in Turning Point’s ‘alternative’ halftime performance instead

‘And the people in that regime all, it seems, [are] a lot of the members of the Epstein class.

‘Either members of the Epstein class, as Jon Ossoff said this weekend, or defenders of the Epstein class and protectors of the Epstein class and protectors of Epstein files,’ the host scathed.

‘And that’s who Franklin Graham is getting self-righteous for.’

Scarborough also penned a reply to Graham’s post on X. The post included the lyrics from the song in question, followed by some curt commentary from Scarborough in the form of the single word: ‘Enjoy.’

The NFL’s decision to tap Bad Bunny spawned pushback from conservatives, largely due to the artist’s political views and criticism of the Trump administration.

His performance Sunday mostly steered clear of politics but was suffused with symbolism and strong statements about Latino culture.

The 31-year-old artist – whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – previously said he avoided touring in the US to protect fans from potential encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

He also used his acceptance speech for Best Album of the Year at last week’s Grammys to make his stance about the agency clear. 

Graham accused the NFL of ‘pushing’ a ‘sexualized agenda’ by tapping Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny rather than Kid Rock, who headed an ‘alternative’ performance on Rumble

Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November. Graham, at the time, slammed documents in the then-looming dump as a ‘Democrat hoax’

‘Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ICE out,’ he told the crowd as he accepted the award.

‘We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. 

‘I know it’s tough to not hate these days. And I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados (contaminated). … The hate gets more powerful with more hate.’

He ended his speech by saying, ‘So please, we need to be different if we fight, we have to do it with love. If, yeah, we don’t hate them. We love our people. We love our family, and that’s the way to do it. With love. Don’t forget that, please.’

Similar messaging was seen on Levi Stadium’s Jumbo-Tron during the show Sunday,  with the words: ‘The only thing more powerful than hate is love.’

Another anti-MAGA band, Green Day, also performed at the show Sunday. Neither artist openly criticized the administration.

As they performed, Rock’s show received at least 20 million views from Americans who refrained from the official option, according to Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet.

‘This was a massive success, and we were grateful to do it,’ Kolvet told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Monday. 

Trump – seen here with Epstein at his estate in Mar-a-Lago in 1997 – has also referred to the scandal surrounding the documents as a hoax

Graham’s name, unlike Trump’s, was not present in any of the documents. The two men are seen at the elder Graham’s funeral service in 2018

He added that the youth organization’s late founder, Charlie Kirk, would have been proud of the performance. Like Graham, Kirk’s evangelical faith heavily influenced his work.

Despite never formally endorsing the president, Graham attended Trump’s second inauguration last year – leading reporters in Berlin last May to ask him whether he thought that Trump’ negative reputation in Europe could affect his evangelistic efforts overseas.

‘I don’t work for him’, Graham said in response. 

‘President Trump is the president of the United States, I didn’t place him there, it was the millions of Americans who voted for him. He will be the president for the next three and a half years, it is what it is.’  

After Trump, he added, ‘there will be another president, and that person may be popular in Europe or maybe not. Politicians come and then go, but God’s Word stays the same.’

After Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, Graham slammed documents in the then-looming dump as a ‘Democrat hoax’.

His name, unlike Trump’s, was not present in any of the documents.

Trump has also referred to the scandal surrounding the documents as a ‘Democrat hoax’, despite signing the bill into law demanding their release.