'Not even legal': Morning Joe debunks MAGA’s 'unambiguous lies'

When Democratic and GOP lawmakers were unable to reach a spending agreement on Tuesday, September 30, the United States' federal government went into a partial shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries (D-New York) maintained that cuts to subsidies for Obamacare will make health insurance unaffordable for millions of Americans, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other MAGA Republicans accused Democrats of wanting to fund health insurance for undocumented immigrants — a claim that conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough forcefully pushed back against the following day.

During a Wednesday morning, October 1 rant on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Scarborough — a Never Trumper and former GOP congressman — argued that Johnson and the Trump White House are telling "unambiguous lies" when they claim that people who are in the United States illegally are getting health insurance via Obamacare in huge numbers.

Scarborough told fellow "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski and their colleague Jonathan Lemire, "The speaker of the House — mister I-rule-by-the-Bible — (is) spreading an unambiguous lie. An unambiguous lie going into this government shutdown. They're lying to their own supporters. They're lying to their own constituents. They're lying to their own followers, saying Democrats want to shut down the government because they want to give great health care benefits to illegal immigrants. It's a total lie."

The Never Trump conservative continued, "So, I'm wondering where in the Bible does Mike Johnson read Jesus saying, 'You know what, tell the truth — except, well, when it might serve you well politically, and then, just lie. And while you're lying, why don't you spread lies about those who are on the outskirts of society? Those who are suffering right now the most? Why don't you lie about the weakest among us, Mikey? But that's what he's doing. He's spreading the lie. The president's spreading the lie. All the Republicans are lying through their teeth."

Scarborough emphasized that "there is no Democratic plan to give health care Cadillac benefits to illegal immigrants."

"It's not even legal," Scarborough added.

Brzezinski elaborated on Scarborough's point, noting, "Undocumented immigrants have long been prohibited from taxpayer-funded Medicaid coverage, except for treatment in emergency medical situations. They also do not qualify for Medicaid and Medicare."