Joe Scarborough Laughs Off Christie Administration's Attack On MSNBC

Joe Scarborough had nothing but laughter Monday when asked about recent pushback from Gov. Chris Christie's administration over a negative story about the New Jersey governor. Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer alleged on Saturday on MSNBC's "Up With Steve Kornacki" that Christie withheld Sandy relief funds to force her to approve a certain development plan -- a charge the governor's office has denied.

On Monday, "Today" host Savannah Guthrie asked the "Morning Joe" host about a statement issued by a Christie spokesperson that "MSNBC is a partisan network that has been openly hostile to Gov. Christie and almost gleeful in their efforts attacking him." But Scarborough, who has been open about his close friendship with the governor, had already begun laughing before Guthrie could finish.

"They're obviously not talking about 'Morning Joe,'" he said. "John Heilemann calls our show 'Good Morning Trenton' because we love Chris Christie so much around here."

Despite his initial reaction, Scarborough eventually admitted that there is some truth behind the claims against MSNBC. But he also suggested that the Christie administration has a bigger issue to worry about: the 2016 presidential election.

"I mean listen, you can attack the network if you want to, and there are a lot that go after him gleefully. That’s not shocking," he said. "This weekend was just sort of one more story in this unfolding story that makes a lot of Republican donors ... scratch their heads going, 'Is this guy really our best chance to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016?' I think more and more people are waking up to this news like this saying, 'No.'"

Watch the video for the full interview on "Today."

(h/t: Mediaite)