Brzezinski: Women's issues 'a matter of life and death' in 'the age of Trump'

Mika Brzezinski says nearly a decade after she launched Know Your Value its purpose is more critical than ever during a "really difficult time for women" in the country.

"The original mission is still the mission today, but there have been changes in the environment," Brzezinski said in an interview with ITK, "especially in the age of Trump."

"Some of our issues have become a matter of life and death," the co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" said.

"Our rights have been taken away and our lives are at stake. Getting women in the game, getting women to go for run for office, to go for that promotion, to advocate for themselves, to make equal pay — all those things add up to women having a voice. And boy, do we ever need it today."

Mika Brzezinski interviews first lady Jill Biden at the Forbes 50 Over 50 Celebration, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in New York.

Brzezinski launched Know Your Value, her women's empowerment platform, in 2015 following the success four years earlier of her New York Times bestseller "Knowing Your Value."

This week, she will be on-hand to recognize the women honored on the fourth annual "50 Over 50" list. Know Your Value's partnership with Forbes is aimed at showcasing women "who have rejected the conventional wisdom that their best years are behind them."

Some of the names on the list released in August and being honored at a Friday luncheon in New York City include: World Food Programme executive director Cindy McCain, actors Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brooke Shields, Valerie Jarrett, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley and Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, among others.

"These women are like, well over 50, and they're killing it," Brzezinski said.

"I kind of thought my career was going to be over at 40, and so I keep surprising myself at how much of a place there is for us," said Brzezinski, now 57, when asked about the challenges of being a woman over 50 weighing in on politics on TV.

"Especially in the field that I'm in, where especially the days leading up to election and things get really ratcheted up, there's probably some criticism out there that's unwarranted, unfair and kind of cruel," Brzezinski, 57, said.

But the beauty of passing the half-century mark, she said, is "you just don't care."

"I think somebody today said I'm too stupid to live. Who cares? It's too important — what we're trying to do as women supporting each other — to get distracted by the negativity. And there is a lot of power that comes along with wisdom and age that is really useful, and all you got to do is tap into it."

One of Brzezinski's frequent detractors has been former President Trump, who appeared regularly on "Morning Joe" in the run-up to the 2016 White House race before getting into a public war of words with her and co-host Joe Scarborough amid criticism from them.

Earlier this month, Brzezinski called Trump an "aging bulls--- artist” and a "racist, bigoted, tired narcissist." In recent months, there has been a lot of back on forth, including at MSNBC, on whether to take Trump's remarks live, knowing he could make false statements.

But while it’s unlikely that the ex-commander in chief would call into the morning program, Brzezinski expressed complete confidence in Scarborough, who is also her husband.

"If Trump were to call in, Joe could handle it," she said.

"We are able to keep up and [say,] 'Stop — that right there, we would like to tell our viewers, was a lie. And I'm going to ask you again, with respect,'" Brzezinski said.

"We just won't let an interview devolve into a run-on sentence with him sort of taking over the airwaves," she said.

The 45th president, she said, "goes where people are afraid of him and they bend to his will. And you'll notice he won't do an interview that holds him accountable."

Asked what the appeal is among women voters who plan on casting a ballot for Trump next month, Brzezinski replied, "I have no idea."

"Our democracy is at stake, and I cannot figure it out," she said.

"I cannot explain it, and I wouldn't want to be insulting to fellow American citizens. But I would urge them to look for information that is true and factual and backed up by triple sources," Brzezinski said.

"Really look at what is the choice here, because it's a pretty important time."