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Joe Scarborough defended Chick-Fil-A on Thursday's "Morning Joe," calling the recent firestorm over the chain's position on gay marriage "stupid."
The company is embroiled in controversy, after its president Dan Cathy recently reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage. Elected officials in Boston and Chicago declared their intention to ban the restaurant from opening locations in their cities, setting off even more debate.
On Thursday, Scarborough revealed that he is a huge fan of the restaurant's chicken sandwiches. "I love Chick-Fil-A," he declared. He said that he has always known that the chain's owners are practicing conservative Christians, and they have always been clear on their views.
"Suddenly, a chicken restaurant has become ground zero in culture wars over gay marriage?" Scarborough asked incredulously. "I mean, how stupid is this?"
Contributor and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart — who is openly gay — disagreed with him, saying that Dan Cathy and his critics were all entitled to their views. "I don't think it's fair to say that the people who are protesting Chick-Fil-A are wrong or dumb," he said, adding that the restaurant donates money to anti-gay groups.
Later, Scarborough took issue with cities attempting to block Chick-Fil-A over the management's beliefs.
"You are going to hold me hostage to your political battle, your culture war? Keep it to yourself," he said. "Please, let's not start putting fences around gay restaurants... and other restaurants and having a cultural battle there."
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