“My question to the Republican Party, to Republican senators, Republican members of the House of Representatives: Do you know the meaning of the word character? Have you ever heard of Margaret Chase Smith, who stood up alone in the well of the Senate, and stood and spoke against Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s? A true danger to America at that time. Where are they? Where’s Mitt Romney? Where’s Rob Portman? Where are the moderate, sensible Republicans? Why don’t they stand up and speak and combat the loudest voices among us?,” asks Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle during this conversation with Joe Scarborough as they worry about the possibility of another event like January 6th striking the country again as many Republicans side with former President Donald Trump in his accusations against the FBI following a search of his home.
ICYMI: Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle and Michael Steele about the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, which happened on the same day as President Richard Nixon announced his resignation from the presidency due to the Watergate scandal in 1974, and as some Republican lawmakers “so out of step with reality and the American people” indicting the Justice Department rather than focusing on the criminality of a former president of the United States.
Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle discuss the state of the Republican Party as former President Donald Trump regained some footing this week with the GOP wins in the Arizona and Michigan primaries. “The infection that (Trump) put into that stream is lasting; I hope it’s not permanent; but, it’s very strong, and we don’t talk about it enough. We don’t make people aware enough about it. It’s out there, and it’s every day, and it’s going to be on every ballot in every state this fall,” says Barnicle about the upcoming midterm elections. Find out more here.
Morning Joe’s Jonathan Lemire, Mike Barnicle and Eugene Robinson discuss an NBC News report that indicates the just two years into his current term Biden Administration has been closely tracking the activity of top Democrats who could potentially be competition to President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election. Hear what they have to say here. Only on MSNBC.
Don’t miss this Morning Joe conversation among veteran columnist Mike Barnicle, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Paul Rieckhoff, and comedian/activist Jon Stewart about GOP efforts to thwart health care for veterans after Senate Republicans blocked a bill meant to aid veterans exposed to toxic burn pits just weeks after the military burn pits bill, or PACT Act, initially passed the 100-member Senate with the support of 34 Republicans and all 50 Democrats. “This is pure political hypocrisy,” says Barnicle. “How do we go about singling out even more so the individuals like Josh Hawley, like Ted Cruz, who go and stand up in their home states at rallies and say we have to support our veterans—and do this as if they’re invisible?” Hear Rieckhoff’s answer and plea for citizens to appeal to U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to help veterans.
Adm. James Stavridis (Ret.), former NATO supreme allied commander, stops by Morning Joe to talk with Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle about the United States’ “substantial proposal” to Russia to secure the release of two jailed Americans: WNBA star Brittney Griner and security consultant Paul Whelan as well as the status of the Russia-Ukraine war and the competency of the Russian military throughout the invasion. Watch the segment now.
Author Jeff Nussbaum stops by Morning Joe to talk with Mike Barnicle about his new book “Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History,” in which he offers fascinating insights into notable speeches that were never delivered. “There are some amazing portraits of history that never happened in this book, and Jeff, I’m curious as to how you managed to select what you selected, what else you left on the table, what else is out there?” asks Barnicle. Hear Nussbaum’s answer here.
Morning Joe’s Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle dig into the latest news that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) have struck a long-awaited deal on legislation that aims to reform the tax code, fight climate change and cut health-care costs, which has caused House Republican leadership to urge members of its conference to vote against a bill to bolster the domestic chip manufacturing industry and fund scientific research, a reversal from its earlier position that came hours after the two Senate Democrats struck the deal on a multibillion-dollar reconciliation package. Viewers at home: “You’ve got to be thinking, what is going on with government that they can’t do something that’s good for America because they’re angry about the politics of it. It’s a crazy, crazy city, Washington D.C.,” says Barnicle. Watch the discussion here.
Watch this Morning Joe segment with Mike Barnicle, John Heilemann and Michael Steele as they discuss the Department of Justice potentially indicting former President Donald Trump, following the DOJ having obtained a warrant to search the phone of Trump’s election attorney, John Eastman, who spoke at the rally before the January 6 assault on the US Capitol. See the conversation here.
“I happened to watch Donald Trump’s performance in front of that crowd in Washington, D.C, and not for the first time I came to the conclusion that it’s not necessarily ideology that has people enraptured to Donald Trump. So, my question to you is, in the larger sense the former Republican Party, if it’s not ideology what enthralls them to the extent that they lack the courage to stand up against someone who is literally trying to overthrow the existing American government?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Washington Post opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin during a Morning Joe conversation that followed former President Trump delivering a speech in his first return to Washington since leaving office. Listen to Rubin’s response here.
ICYMI: Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire, Mike Barnicle and https://www.newyorker.com/ executive editor David Rohde discussing the potential of the Department of Justice seeking to charge former President Donald Trump and others with “corrupt intent” for their role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol or for attempting to interfere with the presidential election.
“What is the level of danger involved, in even the prospect of (US House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi continuing to talk about going to Taiwan, seemingly at odds with her own government, her own president of the United States, and just right in the face of President Xi,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Financial Times U.S. national editor Edward Luce during a Morning Joe conversation about Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan that has infuriated China and has been a cause for concern within the Biden Administration. Hear Luce’s response here.
Morning Joe’s Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle discuss Attorney General Merrick Garland having declined to rule out prosecuting former President Donald Trump and others for their role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol or for attempting to interfere with the presidential election, following former President Trump delivering a speech in his first return to Washington since leaving office. “(Trump) basically tried to destroy our government—to take an election, a legal election, a legal winner, Joseph R. Biden, and basically trample on 230 years of history. That’s what he tried to do,” says Barnicle about former President Trump’s words and actions. You can join the conversation here.
Watch this Morning Joe conversation as the panel discusses President Joe Biden having publicly castigated former President Donald Trump for failing to respond to the January 6 insurrection, contrasting his predecessor’s lack of action with the heroics of police officers responding to the Capitol riot, and comparing Biden’s dealing with Trump now to President Dwight Eisenhower’s handling of Joseph McCarthy. “What is happening to this country now politically is truly, truly damaging to the soul of the country,” said Barnicle. Join the conversation here.
“Zanny, how would you describe an economy – the American economy – where people when you talk to them they complain about the increased cost of gasoline, the scarcity on food shelves of some items, on the cost of meat and chicken, things like that. And yet when you ask them, ‘yeah, but how are you doing personally,’ they say, ‘well, personally, I’m doing okay.’ How do you explain the economy, that kind of an economy?,” asks Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle of The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, who joins the panel to discuss the “confusing” state of the U.S. economy and what might happen next.
Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle and The Atlantic staff writer Mark Leibovich discuss the lack of Republican condemnation of former President Donald Trump, who is returning to Washington D.C. for the first time since leaving the White House. Watch the conversation here.
Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle discuss a judge in New York having ordered Rudy Giuliani, a former personal lawyer of former President Donald Trump and previously the Mayor of New York City, to testify next month before a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury that is investigating Trump and his allies’ attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. “This guy has put so much distance between himself and his behavior in New York City on September 11th, where he was legitimately acknowledged to be heroic in terms of his response to what happened that day. You just wonder what in the world happened to Rudy Giuliani,” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.”
Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle talk baseball following last night’s 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which featured mic’d up players as the American League defeated the National League for a ninth consecutive year. “The clip that we showed of Alek Manoah, the Toronto Blue Jays great right-hander, big strong kid, very young kid, talking back and forth, being mic’d, talking with John Smoltz, a Hall of Fame pitcher—that was worth watching,” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.
Emmy-winning stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell and author Kate Schatz join Morning Joe to talk with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzenski and Mike Barnicle about their new book “Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book,” an informative, interactive workbook that provides readers a hands-on understanding of systemic racism—and how we might dismantle it. Watch the conversation here and find out what inspired them to write it.
Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle and New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb discuss the candidacy of Herschel Walker, the GOP Senate nominee in Georgia running to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. “Does Herschel Walker’s candidacy raise a larger issue in terms of the damage that’s been done to this country via the former guy, Trump?” asks Barnicle. Hear Cobb’s answer here and more on Walker’s “qualifications.”
