'Kissing the ring?' MSNBC 'Morning Joe' hosts meet with Trump to reopen lines of communication

The former president held a surprise Oval Office meeting with MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Thursday

The meeting, which was first reported by Axios, was reportedly part of an effort by the former president to reopen lines of communication with the hosts, who have been critical of him in the past.

The meeting reportedly lasted for about an hour, and the two sides discussed a range of topics, including the upcoming midterm elections and the state of the Republican Party.

The meeting has been met with mixed reactions, with some commentators accusing the hosts of "kissing the ring" of the former president, while others have defended the meeting as a necessary step in reopening lines of communication.

Scarborough and Brzezinski have been critical of Trump in the past, but they have also said that they believe it is important to maintain a dialogue with him.

"We have always said that we want to have a relationship with the president," Scarborough said in an interview with Axios.

"We don't always agree with him, but we think it's important to keep the lines of communication open."

The meeting comes at a time when Trump is reportedly considering a run for president in 2024.

If he does run, it would be a rematch of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.

The meeting between Trump and the MSNBC hosts has been widely seen as an attempt by the former president to improve his relationship with the media.

It remains to be seen whether the meeting will be successful in achieving that goal.