'You of All People Know!' Joe Scarborough Scolds 'Pathetic' Lindsey Graham for Trashing Dems' 'Illegal Orders' Video
Graham called the lawmakers’ video despicable while opposing Trump’s call to punish them.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
Yahoo News is an established news platform, but the page identifies this as a Mediaite post rather than original Yahoo reporting. The assessment therefore reflects the attributed source of the article and the limited transparency about its reporting process in the text.
- Source type — Published on an established national news platform, though the article is attributed to another outlet.
- Transparency — The closing note identifies Mediaite as the source where the post first appeared.
- Author attribution — A named author is credited.
- Editorial standards — The article gives little visible information about corrections or reporting methods.
The article supplies direct quotations from Graham and Scarborough and reproduces Trump’s posts, but it largely relays one television program’s criticism and offers little independent context or response from the Democratic lawmakers.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes Graham’s statement and quotes Trump’s posts, but most of its narrative consists of Scarborough’s criticism and interpretation. It does not include responses from the Democratic lawmakers or another perspective on the dispute.
- Source diversity — Graham, Trump’s posts and Scarborough are represented, but the Democratic lawmakers do not speak in the article beyond video quotations.
- Counterarguments presented — Graham’s stated objection to the video appears, but there is little development of arguments supporting his view.
- Loaded language — The headline and narration use emphatic terms while reporting Scarborough’s rebuke.
- Opinion vs reporting — Scarborough’s interpretation of Trump’s motive is attributed to him, but the article chiefly presents his segment and criticism.
The article's headline and framing foreground Scarborough’s rebuke of Graham, and it gives substantial space to criticism of Graham and Trump without comparable counterarguments. Most of the critical claims are attributed to Scarborough.
- Headline — Uses “Scolds” and highlights Scarborough’s description of Graham’s position as “Pathetic.”
- Source selection — The article centers Scarborough’s criticism, with Graham’s position included but no response from the lawmakers in the video.
- Language tone — Uses charged descriptions including “furiously,” “incendiary,” and “unloaded.”
Republished with credit
Republished from Mediaite, with credit to the original publisher.
1,140 stories · 64.7–65.0 · updated Oct 13, 2026
This is Mediaite's own score, and this article is credited to Mediaite. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
Joe Scarborough criticized Sen. Lindsey Graham for calling a video by Democratic lawmakers “despicable” while opposing President Donald Trump’s call to punish them. Scarborough also accused Trump of using the dispute to distract from other political problems.
The article reports that Graham opposed Trump’s stance toward the lawmakers but said their video urging troops to refuse illegal orders was “despicable” and that they should explain themselves. On Morning Joe, Scarborough called Graham’s remarks “pathetic” and said Graham should know that troops cannot commit illegal acts.
Scarborough also said Trump’s response was intended to distract from the Epstein files and other political difficulties. The article quotes Trump’s posts calling the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” and the lawmakers “TRAITORS,” including a post saying the behavior was punishable by death. These are reported statements and accusations, not independently established motives.
Community verdict
20 VOTES- Readers of left-leaning coverage: 53% good look
- Readers of right-leaning coverage: not enough votes yet
People in this story
SWIPE →Senator criticized by Joe Scarborough for his response to the lawmakers’ video
President whose posts condemned the Democratic lawmakers’ video and called for punishment
Trump's version of this story ↗Morning Joe host who criticized Graham and Trump
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