“We are witnessing all day long here in America scenes from Ukraine that are mind-boggling in terms of their misery and their effect on people. Now, the relics of war, the memories of war, the casualties of war are going to be with the Ukrainian people for years to come—no matter their age, young and old. They’re going to remember the noise, the violence, the confusion, certainly the deaths. So, my question to you is: We live in a country where if the Apple store in Palo Alto was closed, there’d be hysteria. Could you please talk to the American people right now about your knowledge of the Ukrainians and their sense of liberty and freedom and their willingness to die on the street in front of their homes to save their country and to save the liberty for their own children?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Hear McFaul’s answer here.
During this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and US Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret.), listen in as they discuss the escalating and intensifying attack by the Russian military on Ukraine, including in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, eight days into the assault, and what might happen next. Only on MSNBC.
Catch up with this Morning Joe segment as veteran columnist Mike Barnicle talks with Jon Stewart, host of Apple TV’s “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” and U.S. Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) about the Honoring Our Pact Act, which will provide health benefits to 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to burn pits on overseas bases. The bill was passed today by the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 256-174. H.R. 3967 will address the full range of issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans including access to earned benefits and healthcare through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It has the strong support of 42 Veterans Service Organizations, the Biden-Harris Administration, and advocates Jon Stewart And John Feal. Watch the segment here.
ICYMI: Watch this Morning Joe conversation between Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle as they review and discuss President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in which he called out Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pledged to tame surging inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic. “In 62 minutes, you saw the Commander-in-Chief talking about Ukraine. You saw the President of the United States talking about domestic issues, about funding the police, about getting kids back into school. And you saw Joe Biden citizen, ‘happy birthday buddy’ to the young boy who was there with diabetes. You saw the expanse of his personality in full blossom: Angry about Ukraine, really angry about Putin, frustrated about empty office buildings here in New York and throughout the country, frustrated that more kids haven’t been in school full time for a while, frustrated about the normal issues that plague American families: gas prices. You saw it all…in 62 minutes. I think it was a very, very solid night for the President of the United States, for the Commander-in-Chief and for Joe Biden, citizen of America,” says Barnicle.
Final thoughts on Morning Joe, 2.24.22: Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle discuss their shock and dismay about the lack of U.S. support from some Republicans and journalists in the wake of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle talks with Puck Washington correspondent Julia Ioffe about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivation to go forward with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “He’s on a different schedule” says Ioffe about Putin’s reign that has spanned 22 years and five U.S. presidents, including current President Joe Biden, whom Ioffe says, “sees this guy for what he is.” Watch the conversation here.
“It’s Putin’s war, it’s Putin’s invasion,” said Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist, Katty Kay about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “What steps he might take next? We do not know, but I think we do know that the United States of America along with other European countries will inflict severe, severe penalties that Russia is totally unprepared for.” Watch the rest of the discussion about this “volatile and increasingly dangerous situation.”
ICYMI: Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and journalist/author Katty Kay discuss this “global war right now today” on the morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “What is the immediate future in terms of the strength and unity of NATO against this confrontation with Russia?” asks Barnicle. Hear Kay’s response about what NATO might do in the wake of Putin’s “whack at Democracy.”
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment as veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Mo Elleithee, executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, discuss the erosion of the public’s trust in politicians and major institutions in general over the last five years and how and why the public’s trust has waned.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams joins Morning Joe to talk with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Mike Barnicle about his position on law enforcement spending as violent crime has risen within New York City. “During the course of your campaign, you called for $1 billion cut in the police department budget. Where do you stand now on cuts in that budget? And if you are going to cut it, where are you going to cut it?” asks Barnicle. Adams’ response is here.
Watch this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, about America’s military strategy for combating the terrorist organization ISIS, following the leader of ISIS being killed in a U.S. raid in Syria.
“How is it that the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney is managing to get this thing going on a local level with a grand jury when Mark Meadows, a former member of Congress, former chief of staff to a president of the United States, has flouted the subpoena, has flouted the idea of testifying before Congress, and no one has subpoenaed him to do it?” asks veteran journalist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe discussion with Willie Geist, Elise Jordan and Jonathan Lemire about the Fulton County, Georgia, criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump, which concerns accusations that Trump and his allies tried to improperly influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, while the House Select Committee investigating January 6 insurrection hasn’t been tougher on getting former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to testify.
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle as they slam the election standards for the National Baseball Hall of Fame that have excluded certain all-time great Major League Baseball players due to their checkered histories, following the homerun king Barry Bonds and legendary pitcher Roger Clemens being denied entry during their last year of eligibility. “Let’s stop being ridiculous. Admit what happened. Explain what happened and put them in the Hall of Fame where they belong,” says Barnicle about all-time great baseball players who are being denied entry to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Join the conversation here.
Way Too Early’s Jonathan Lemire and veteran columnist Mike Barnicle pay tribute to Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz, who was just inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame his first time on the ballot, while lamenting that homerun king Barry Bonds and all-time great pitcher Roger Clemens were denied entry during their final year of eligibility. “Bonds and Clemens—they both deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, and they should be in the Hall of Fame,” says Barnicle. “And there should be an asterisk and an explanation of why it took them so long to attain Hall of Fame status on their plaque. You can’t ignore the fact that two of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball are now off the ballot after ten years.” Watch more of the conversation here.
Watch this Morning Joe panel—Jonathan Lemire, Ian Brzezinski, Mike Barnicle and David Ignatius—discuss the escalating tensions between the United States and Russia and whether there’s a path to diplomacy, following the release of a news report that indicates President Joe Biden is considering deploying several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, amid mounting fears of a Russian incursion into Ukraine.
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment with Joe Scarborough, George Conway and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the Supreme Court refusing a request from former President Donald Trump to block the release of White House records concerning the January 6 attack on the Capitol, effectively rejecting Trump’s claim of executive privilege and clearing the way for the House committee investigating the riot to start receiving the documents. Find out what happens next.
Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle discuss “the most extraordinary weekend of football” after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in thrilling fashion, capping off an NFL Playoffs Divisional Round weekend where every game was won on the final play. “I feel so badly for Major League Baseball and every other professional sport in the wake of what we witnessed as a nation this weekend. It was the greatest weekend of playoff football in history,” says Barnicle. Watch the conversation here.
Morning Joe remembers Meat Loaf, the award-winning singer/actor known for his bestselling “Bat Out of Hell” album, who died at 74 years old. Watch this segment that includes an August 23, 2019 interview clip during which veteran columnist Mike Barnicle asks Meat Loaf about his music, storytelling and approach to live performing. “For years and still up until this moment, I think ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light,’ is one of the greatest songs,” remarks Barnicle upon Meat Loaf’s death. “It’s an epic song—ever sung, ever written, ever composed and the act that Phil Rizzuto was in it—and Phil Rizzuto making the phony apology later that he didn’t really know what the song was all about. It’s just a historic song, a great song. I’m going to play it all day today,” says Barnicle about the song specifically written for New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto using phrases he would actually say while announcing.
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and The Guardian congressional reporter Hugo Lowell about the sheer exhaustion of covering the continuous investigations into the business dealings of former President Donald Trump and his family, following New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ accusation that Trump’s family business repeatedly misrepresented the value of its assets to bolster its bottom line, saying in court papers that the company had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” practices for economic benefit.
Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Mike Barnicle discuss “the game of politics” and how Republicans are playing it better heading into the 2022 midterm elections and one year into President Joe Biden’s tenure. “Most Republicans who run for office, they’re better on both sides of the ball—offense and defense. They crush their opponents, and they brag about their accomplishments. The Democrats are unable to do that….They sit there paralyzed by the differences between the progressives and the moderates in both the House and the Senate. But there are deliverables that the President ought to be talking about…things that have helped people, helped families survive through the virus, and it’s still there: The promise is still there, but they seem unable to articulate it, and worse—unable to act on it,” says Barnicle about Democrats touting the achievements of Biden’s first year in office. Watch the conversation here.
