Joe Scarborough Blames Hillary Clinton's 'Horrible Campaign' for Trump Supreme Court List

MSNBC's Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough addressed public outrage over President Donald Trump's list of nominees to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy—expected to shift the Supreme Court ideological balance in his favor—by placing the blame Thursday on his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton.

Holding up a copy of The New York Times front page with the headline, "Trump Set to Tilt Court as Kennedy Retires," Scarborough said, "Yesterday there were several people who were shocked at this news, and quite a few people actually with blue check marks by their name, saying this was the bleakest moment in their lives and they didn't know how they were going to move forward with it."

"There are many things that Donald Trump does that we criticize and talk about, cause great concern and they are actually violations of constitutional norms," Scarborough continued, after referencing verified Twitter users with the blue check mark. "Just for our friends who are suggesting the same here, when you elect presidents, this is what happens."

Then Scarborough, who is a former Republican House representative and frequent Trump critic, took a stab at Clinton.

"When Hillary Clinton didn't visit Wisconsin and didn't visit Michigan enough, and when we saw a young woman yesterday with a campaign message that was more inspiring in three minutes than what Hillary Clinton gave us in two years," Scarborough said, "They can complain about Internet this and that and the press did this and they should have done that, but the fact is, Hillary never had a message."

"She ran a horrible campaign, and this is the consequence of it, is it not?" he concluded. "I mean, what Donald Trump did yesterday is what presidents do."

Scarborough in his comparison was referencing 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who unseated Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley earlier in the week in a New York primary.

Kennedy, who was the Supreme Court's swing vote, announced on Wednesday he would retire on July 31. Conservatives rejoiced at his retirement and view it as an opportunity to reverse some abortion and LGBT rights.

Trump said his short list of Supreme Court justice nominees to replace Kennedy comes from a selection he came up with on the campaign trail, with several names added since.

"We have to pick a great one," Trump said at a North Dakota campaign rally on Wednesday night. "We have to pick one that's going to be there for 40 years, 45 years."