MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has released a Christmas EP with his group The Independent Counsel of Funk. The four song record focuses on the criticisms of the holiday season that many people have these days, as well as taking aim at President Donald Trump and his administration. Scarborough was a Republican congressman in Florida from 1995-2001, and then went onto to host talk shows on the NBC network. A few months into his fourth term as congressman, which he won in 2000, Scarborough decided to resign in order to spend more time with his family. Following his departure from congress, the politician moved into law and briefly began a job as an environmental lawyer before again moving onto television.

The former congressman’s political views fall heavily into line with conservative views, with many of his roles in the politic sector being based around reducing government spending and attempting to give more power to the states. He also supported bills to lessen Medicare and increase state funding for education. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, however, Scarborough began to show weakening support for the Republican party, which culminated in his 2017 declaration on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that he was leaving the Republican Party to be an Independent. This was due mostly to his disdain for President Trump and his views that the man would ruin the Republican party. Joe Scarborough has most recently come under fire by President Trump after prominently disagreeing with many of his administration’s policies, leading to the President attacking him in one of his famous twitter rants in 2017. Scarborough’s new music draws heavily on his hatred for the President, using the EP as a way to express his views in a new way.

The Independent Counsel of Funk is the name of Scarborough’s music group, which began producing material together in 2017 to respond to the anti-democratic views and decisions carried out by the Trump administration. The band’s newest EP, titled I Don’t Want to Go Home for Christmas, uses Trump and America under his administration as a punching bag in many instances, most notably in the song the “The Drumpf.” “The Drumpf” is both a politically powerful song and an expression of the group’s musical skills. The song relies on powerful a vocal presence and witty political lyrics to both captivate listeners and express dissatisfaction with the government in a very enjoyable way. While many may feel that a politician and talk show host may have no place in music, this EP proves The Independent Counsel of Funk is capable of handling political issues in their music without coming off as tacky. The song “This Christmas It’s You & Me” sounds like a stereotypical Christmas song at first glance, but the lyrics dive into the problems many people have with the holiday in 2018. Mentioning the loneliness one can feel at Christmas time and the stress of providing for for a family, this track comes from the mindset of a man who simply wants to enjoy Christmas with the one he loves. Overall, this EP is one of the more enjoyable political pieces of music to be released and the full track list can be found below.

Tracklist:

1. 1. I Don’t Want to Go Home for Christmas
   2. Christmastime
   3. The Drumpf
   4. This Christmas It’s You & Me