MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough ridiculed Republicans for embracing what he called the “personality cult” surrounding President Donald Trump, even as voters confront rising costs and Trump’s approval rating sinks. The “Morning Joe” host described the situation as a “devastating week” for the Republican Party.

Scarborough said Republicans keep handing themselves “one self-inflicted wound after another” by placing loyalty to Trump above the concerns of struggling voters. His criticism followed a campaign event where a Republican congressional candidate created a new award for the president.

On Thursday evening in Sioux City, Iowa, Republican congressional candidate Joe Mitchell presented Trump with a “Man of the Century Award.” The honor was created by Mitchell, who is competing in a tight race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

Mitchell praised Trump in sweeping terms before presenting the award. He told the crowd that Trump had done “more for humanity and for America than any other president ever.”

Mitchell also invoked Trump’s failure to receive the Nobel Peace Prize while explaining his alternative honor. “They’ve never given you the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way, which is a disgrace. So what I came up with, Mr. President, is a new award. It’s called the Man of the Century award,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell then handed Trump a certificate in a gold frame. The display became Scarborough’s prime example of a Republican choosing to flatter the president while facing a competitive election and widespread voter anxiety about basic expenses.

During Friday’s “Morning Joe,” Scarborough questioned why a candidate in such a close contest would bind himself so tightly to Trump. He focused his argument on the financial pressure confronting voters, including fuel prices, rent, interest rates and grocery costs.

“Gas prices, just at a level now that most Americans can’t afford to pay,” Scarborough said. He then laid out a grim portrait of how those costs are affecting workers and major parts of the economy.

“Diesel prices over $6: it’s just absolutely crushing truck drivers, crushing farmers, crushing working Americans, crushing all Americans. Rent, too high — Americans can’t afford it. Interest rates continue to skyrocket. Economic indicators, all being radically adjusted downward. Groceries costing more than ever before.”

For Scarborough, the decision to give Trump an invented award was not merely an odd campaign moment. It reflected what he described as a Republican fixation on pleasing Trump, regardless of his polling or the political risks facing the party.

Scarborough said the “personality cult” around Trump has “evolved to such a point” that Republicans continue indulging the president even when their party’s future is at stake. He said many party members are “still trying to kiss up to a guy with a 31% approval rating.”

That approach, Scarborough argued, leaves Republicans catering to Trump’s ego instead of responding to voters’ immediate problems. His comments repeatedly returned to people having difficulty paying for food, transportation and other necessities.

Scarborough pointed to Americans “who can’t afford their groceries, who can’t afford gas to fill up their their gas tanks to get to work.” He also highlighted those “who are getting crushed by tariffs, who are getting crushed by cuts in health care.”

The contrast at the center of Scarborough’s criticism was stark. While voters grapple with mounting costs, a Republican candidate in a close congressional race used a campaign event to praise Trump as historically unmatched and hand him a freshly created honor.

Scarborough made clear that he was not celebrating the Republican Party’s predicament. “I say none of this with any glee,” he said before warning again about the consequences of the party’s devotion to Trump.

According to Scarborough, that devotion is producing “one self-inflicted wound after another” while Americans struggle with prices, health care and the broader economy. The “Man of the Century Award” offered a particularly gaudy illustration of the choice he believes Republicans keep making.

Rather than shifting attention toward voters who are being squeezed, Republicans remain absorbed in Trump’s need for praise, Scarborough argued. In his telling, the party’s political problems are not merely arriving from outside forces, since Republicans keep creating fresh trouble for themselves.