Morning Joe's Mika likens Trump's Pearl Harbor gag to SNL sketch: 'That was something'

By ALEX HAMMER, US MEDIA CORRESPONDENT Updated: 15:12 20 Mar 2026

MS NOW’s Mika Brzezinski could not contain her disbelief at Donald Trump's bizarre reference to the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during an Oval Office meeting with Japan's prime minister on Thursday.

'That was- like a- I mean- I almost felt like I was watching SNL or something,' the Morning Joe co-host reacted as producers played back the clip on Friday's show. 'Like, no. No,' she added incredulously.

'Yeah. Yeah,' costar Joe Scarborough agreed, pausing at points to emphasize his own astonishment. 'That's something you wouldn't see from any other president, because usually presidents are trying, to be nice to allies,' he said.

Brzezinski said Trump's dig was 'definitely not normal', following a series of deep breaths and briefly burying her face in her hands.

Scarborough added the president was needlessly alienating US allies with his rhetoric. Trump, when asked why countries were not notified of his Iran war plans, told Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: 'Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor!'

Scarborough added: 'But the fights continue. And, you know, the Mika, that's a lot of people say that's why they voted for him. And well, you asked for it. You got it.'

An irritated Brzezinski shot back: 'That's one way of putting it.'

'I'm like, I'm embarrassed: I'm embarrassed for the country,' she said.

Her disgust earned a reaction from panelist Anand Giridharadas, who joked of Trump, 'I didn't know he was such a history buff.'

The mockery continued as Brzezinski let out a laugh.

'That was something,' she concluded, still visibly exasperated. 

Giridharadas, meanwhile, homed in on Scarborough's use of the word 'allies.' He claimed Trump inherently does not understand the term.

'I think you have to actually understand at a gut level what an ally is, even in your personal life. This is a man who only understands transactions in every walk of his life. And- and it's manifesting on the biggest stage,' Giridharadas said. 

Scarborough, cohost Jonathan Lemire, and Giridharadas all appeared visibly amused by the brief clip.

Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi to speak about the war in Iran.

 The situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow body of water between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, is a particular sticking point. The vital waterway has been effectively blocked since the conflict began.

Oil prices have rocketed as a result. 

Trump's comment about Pearl Harbor was offered after a Japanese reporter asked about the lack of transparency before the war began on February 28.

'You don't want to signal too much ... we wanted surprise,' Trump said after choosing not to notify allies like Japan.

'Who knows better about surprise than Japan?' he went on to quip. 'Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor!'

The moment was quickly clipped and mocked online. 

Military operations in Iran, meanwhile, are now nearing their fourth week. Global markets are expected to weaken if the conflict continues. It showed no signs of slowing Friday, as Iran engaged in retaliatory strikes on Israel.