‘Morning Joe’ host asks if Trump lied about wiretapping

MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski Tuesday morning spoke directly into the camera to ask President Trump if he lied when he accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower.

“We’re just asking the question. I would like to know the answer to the question. Were you lying, Mr. President? Did you make it up? Was it some sort of little spurt of activity that you had out of need to have action?” Brzezinski asked.

“If the president was lying, don’t you think at some point he ought to say, ‘I apologize, I am just an idiot?'”

Trump earlier this month took to Twitter to accuse Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower before the November presidential election, but the president didn’t provide any evidence of the claim.

{mosads}Obama, through a spokesperson, denied that he or any White House official ordered surveillance.

Trump is known to watch Brzezinski’s show, “Morning Joe,” which she hosts with former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.). The chance to influence Trump through the show has even driven up the cost of ads running in the commercial breaks. 

Brzezinski, during the broadcast, spoke directly into the camera to the president.

“I’d like to know where it came from because it’s a very serious allegation. And it questions everything that you’re about. And it questions whether we can ever believe you and whether Americans can believe you,” she said.

“And whether this country is being run by someone who thinks this is a serious job or thinks it’s a joke and he can amuse himself on twitter every single day just ‘cause he feels like it. And spew out lies about people and call them names and make defaming claims about their reputation just because he feels like it.”

The Trump administration, following the president’s initial claim, asked that Congress include an investigation into any potential surveillance in its probe of Russia’s interference in the United States election.

The House Intelligence Committee, which said it would investigate the accusations as part of the probe, asked that the White House hand over any evidence of wiretapping by Monday. 

The Department of Justice on Monday asked for additional time to comply with the committee’s request. This followed a White House press briefing in which press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump does not actually believe Obama tapped Trump’s phones.

“He doesn’t really believe that President Obama tapped his phone personally, but I think there’s no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election,” Spicer said on Monday.

Brzezinski during her show suggested that the president should apologize if he lied when he made the accusations.

“Are you that person? Or are you the president of the United States that we respect? Just want to know,” Brzezinski said.