Joe Scarborough facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Scarborough
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Scarborough in 2017
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 1st district |
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| In office January 3, 1995 – September 5, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Earl Hutto |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Charles Joseph Scarborough
April 9, 1963 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent (2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Republican (before 2017) |
| Spouses |
Melanie Hinton
(m. 1986; div. 1999)Susan Waren
(m. 2001; div. 2013) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Alabama (BA) University of Florida (JD) |
| Occupation |
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| Television |
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Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough (born April 9, 1963) is an American television host and a former politician. He is best known as the co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, where he works with his wife Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. Before this, he hosted Scarborough Country on the same network.
Scarborough was once a member of the Republican Party. He served in the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001. He was also named one of the world's most influential people in the 2011 Time 100 list.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Joe Scarborough was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were Mary Joanna and George Francis Scarborough, a businessman. He has two siblings. His family moved several times, living in Meridian, Mississippi, Elmira, New York, and finally Pensacola, Florida.
He went to Pensacola Catholic High School in Pensacola. In 1985, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Alabama. Later, in 1990, he received a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the University of Florida College of Law. During his college years, Joe also wrote music and produced CDs with his band, Dixon Mills. He even coached football and taught high school.
Legal Career and Public Involvement
After finishing law school, Scarborough became a lawyer in Pensacola, Florida in 1991. He worked on various legal cases.
His public profile grew in late 1993 when he helped lead a "tax revolt." This was a petition drive that successfully stopped a plan to increase property taxes in Pensacola by 65 percent. This showed his ability to organize and influence local issues.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Becoming a Congressman
In 1994, Joe Scarborough was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He represented Florida's 1st congressional district. He was the first Republican to hold this seat since the Reconstruction era after the Civil War.
The previous Democratic representative, Earl Hutto, retired, leaving the seat open. Scarborough won the election with 61 percent of the vote. His victory was part of a big "Republican wave" that year. This wave allowed Republicans to gain control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
He was reelected easily in 1996 with 72 percent of the vote. In 1998 and 2000, he faced almost no opposition.
His Time in Congress
While in Congress, Scarborough was known for his conservative views. He received high ratings from groups that support lower taxes and less government spending. He was a member of important committees, including those dealing with the military, law, government, and education.
In 1998, he became the chairman of the Civil Service Committee. He was part of a group of new Republican lawmakers called the "New Federalists." They wanted to reduce the size and power of the U.S. government. Their goal was to move more power and money away from Washington D.C. and closer to local communities and schools.
Scarborough voted on many important issues. He supported bills to make the Corporation for Public Broadcasting self-sufficient by cutting federal funding. He also voted for the "Medicare Preservation Act of 1995," which aimed to slow the growth of Medicare spending. However, he was one of the few Republicans who voted against cutting Medicaid funding. He also opposed oil drilling royalty relief, calling it "corporate welfare."
While generally conservative, Scarborough was seen as more moderate on environmental issues and human rights. He even worked with civil rights leaders to rename a historic street in Pensacola after Martin Luther King Jr..
He received several awards for his work, including the "Friend of the Taxpayer Award" and the "Guardian of Small Business Award." In December 1998, he was one of the 228 members of the House who voted to impeach President Bill Clinton.
Leaving Congress
In May 2001, just five months into his fourth term, Scarborough decided to resign from Congress. He said he wanted to spend more time with his children. He explained that his children were at a "critical stage of their lives," and he wanted to be judged as a father more than as a congressman.
A special election was held in October 2001 to fill his vacant seat. Years later, in 2017, Scarborough officially left the Republican Party and became an independent voter.
Media Career
After leaving Congress, Joe Scarborough started a new path in media. In 1999, while still a congressman, he founded a free weekly newspaper in Pensacola called The Florida Sun. This paper later merged and is now known as the Independent News.
Scarborough Country
In April 2003, Scarborough began hosting a nightly primetime show on MSNBC called Scarborough Country. The show covered politics and popular culture.
In 2005, he broadcast his show from Biloxi, Mississippi, right after Hurricane Katrina. He reported on the terrible conditions, calling the situation "nothing short of a national disgrace." His reporting during this time was highly praised and seen as very important.
Morning Joe
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In May 2007, Scarborough became a permanent host for a new morning show on MSNBC. This show became Morning Joe, which he co-hosts with Mika Brzezinski (who is now his wife) and Willie Geist.
Morning Joe is a news and talk show that airs every weekday morning. It features Joe Scarborough discussing the day's news with his co-hosts and various guests. The show is known for its deep discussions that often help shape the political conversations of the day. Early reviews of the show were very positive. The New York Times said it was "unlike anything else on morning television."
The program quickly became a popular show in Washington D.C., watched by many politicians and government officials. Scarborough has covered many presidential elections and political conventions.
Morning Joe has been very successful in the ratings. For many years, it has beaten CNN in total viewers and key demographic groups. In 2023, it was the #1 cable morning show in New York and Washington, D.C. Nationally, it ranked #2 in its time slot for the seventh year in a row.
Joe Scarborough also hosts special primetime shows called Joe Scarborough Presents, which focus on a single topic. He often appears as a guest on other NBC and MSNBC news programs. In 2024, he even appeared as himself on two episodes of the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Books and Music
Joe Scarborough is also an author and musician.
Books
He has written several books:
- Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day (2005): This book talks about how politicians and government actions might be harming America's finances.
- The Last Best Hope (2009): In this book, he shared ideas for conservatives to regain political influence after some election losses.
- The Right Path (2013): This book looks at how Republicans found success in the past and how they could do so again.
- Saving Freedom: Truman, the Cold War, and the Fight for Western Civilization (2020): This book explores a historical period involving President Truman and the Cold War.
Music
In 2017, Scarborough released his first music EP (a short album) called Mystified. He said he planned to release a new EP every month for the next four years.
Influence and Recognition
Joe Scarborough has been recognized as an influential figure in media and politics.
In 2011, he was named one of the world's most influential people on the TIME 100 list. TIME magazine noted his courage in speaking his mind and putting "country before party."
In 2012, he and Mika Brzezinski were named on Vanity Fair's "Top Media Power Players" list. In 2022 and 2024, Mediaite named the Morning Joe team among the "Most Influential in News Media," praising their broadcasting skills and chemistry.
Morning Joe is known to be a favorite program of President Joe Biden. It is reported that President Biden often calls Scarborough to get his thoughts on different issues. This shows the significant influence that Scarborough and his show have in American politics.
Awards and Honors
- In 2016, Joe Scarborough was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame along with Mika Brzezinski.
- In 2017, Harvard University awarded Scarborough and Brzezinski a Visiting Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics.
- In 2018, he and Brzezinski received the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award. This award recognizes their important contributions to protecting First Amendment freedoms, which include freedom of speech and the press.
Personal Life
Joe Scarborough has been married three times and has four children.
He first married Melanie Hinton in 1986. They had two sons and divorced in 1999. One of his sons was diagnosed with a mild form of autism called Asperger's.
In 2001, he married Susan Waren, who had worked for Florida governor Jeb Bush. They had a daughter in 2003 and a son in 2008. They divorced in 2013.
As of 2016, Scarborough lived in both New Canaan, Connecticut, and Jupiter, Florida. In early 2017, he became engaged to his Morning Joe co-host, Mika Brzezinski. They married on November 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The ceremony was led by U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings.
Joe Scarborough is not related to the TV news anchor Chuck Scarborough.
See also
- Cable news in the United States
- New Yorkers in journalism
