Joe Scarborough is leaving the GOP

Morning talk show host, former U.S. representative, and budding-but-soulful rock guitarist Joe Scarborough announced his intent to cut ties with the Republican party tonight, telling Stephen Colbert that he intends to become an independent. Scarborough’s announcement comes after days of attacks directed at him and his co-host/fiancee, Mika Brzezinski, from Donald Trump on Twitter.

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According to Scarborough, though, his decision to leave his party stemmed less from Trump’s constant categorization of him as a “psycho” (or Brzezinski as “low-IQ”), but from his fellow Republicans’ unwillingness to condemn Trump for his various racist or Islamophobic stunts. Speaking about the earlier days of the Trump campaign, Scarborough noted, “I said I can never vote for anybody in my party that would say they were going to ban people for what god they worshiped.”

“But aren’t you a Republican?” Colbert asked.

“I am a Republican, but I’m not going to be a Republican any more,” Scarborough replied, presumably already imagining all the extra time he’ll have now to try out sweet guitar licks and his new, maverick persona. “ I’ve got to become an independent “

[via Time]