Morning Joe tears apart top Trump official over scheme to cause 'economic paralysis'

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is drawing vehement criticism for essentially threatening to halt international flights in and out of Democrat-controlled cities if they oppose President Donald Trump's immigration policies. And some of the criticism is coming from conservative MS NOW host Joe Scarborough, who had a scathing response to Mullin's threat during a Friday morning broadcast of "Morning Joe."

Mullin told Fox News that if "radical left Democrats" defied Trump's immigration policies, "we shouldn't be processing international flights into their cities." And Scarborough warned that if Mullin's idea were actually implemented, it would have dire consequences for the U.S. economy and international air travel.

Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, told fellow "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski, "It makes your teeth hurt, the stupidity…. (Mullin) wants to…. totally screw up international commerce. I mean, it is really bizarre how backward these people are, and they are focusing on all the wrong things — which may be why the president has his lowest approval rating. Well, the lowest approval rating of any president, according to Gallup, since Richard Nixon in the midst of Watergate."

The Never Trump conservative continued, "Maybe he should get people in place that actually focus on the right things instead of these bizarre things like shutting down or disrupting flights at Newark (International Airport). It's just crazy."

A Fox News anchor pointed out that "pulling CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) out of airports" in major cities run by Democrats "would effectively be the end of international travel into big airports like LAX, San Francisco, Boston Logan, JFK, Newark, Chicago, Philly, Seattle, many others."

Scarborough and Lemire emphasized that removing international flights from major U.S. cities would have dire economic consequences way beyond those cities.

Lemire told Scarbrough and Brzezinski, "It's like you saw the economic paralysis that came from the Strait of Hormuz closing and said, 'Oh, let's bring that home. Let's do some of that here.' Because…. it would have such impact beyond these handful of blue cities, these sanctuary cities the DHS wants to punish. Travel executives have warned the government about that. Others in the industry have. Even some Republicans have quietly expressed some reservations, like: look, this pain is not going to be limited to the handful of cities and states you want it to be. We're going to feel it around the country and beyond."

The MS NOW host continued, "So perhaps, Mika, they'll be talked out of this particular idea."