Television
Thoughts on the first 2024 Republican primary debate

“This country has suffered great damage—none more so than the injection into the political bloodstream that the election of 2020 was fixed, was rigged,” said veteran columnist Mike Barnicle in this Morning Joe conversation with host Mika Brzezinski following the first 2024 Republican primary debate that took place in Milwaukee, which didn’t feature the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who decided to skip the event. “How do you begin a debate with any of the candidates, Republican or Democrat, without asking them the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question: ‘Was Joseph R. Biden legitimately elected president of the United States, yes or no?’ That way, we know where you’re going to go on continuing this poison that is in the political culture today, and no one asked that.” Watch their review of what Barnicle called “a revealing and depressing performance.”

Barnicle’s 3 questions for former Gov. Christie

Veteran columnist Mike Barnicle has three questions for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, following the first 2024 Republican primary debate. Watch the conversation here.

“Golda”

Gideon Meir, the grandson of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, and director Guy Nattiv, join Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle to talk about their new film “Golda,” a biopic of the country’s first—and only—female leader. The film focuses on the intensely dramatic and high-stakes responsibilities and decisions that Golda Meir, also known as the “Iron Lady of Israel,” faced during the Yom Kippur War. “She’s a portrait of incredible strength in this film, and her nature comes across in this film, especially with regard to Moshe Dayan, an iconic Israeli hero who takes kind of a reputational hit in this movie, and yet she nurtures him through this crisis on a day-to-day basis,” says Barnicle. Learn more about the film, the casting of Mirren and her long-time connection to Israel.

Trump’s $200,000 bond

““Joyce, in looking at the stipulations laid down in Georgia against the former president, quite a few are similar to stipulations that a court would issue to John Gotti, including the last one, which is ‘the above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media’ having to do with intimidation. So, let me ask you: Given the former president’s nature, it seems to many people he will be unable to help himself or prevent himself from crossing the line here. What would be the next step potentially by the Georgia district attorney if he does so?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance during this Morning Joe conversation about a Fulton County judge having set former President Donald Trump’s bond at $200,000 in District Attorney Fani Willis’ election interference case, as the bond agreement includes a “no direct or indirect threat” clause against codefendants or witnesses. Listen to Vance’s response here.

“Velshi Banned Book Club” podcast

MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi joins Morning Joe to talk with Willie Geist, Mike Barnicle and the Rev. Al Sharpton about his new podcast “Velshi Banned Book Club,” which features different authors of banned books to talk about why their work is being targeted and about the literature itself. Watch the segment here.

The 2020 election interference case

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Mike Barnicle and former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg about former President Donald Trump’s upcoming court cases, the bond required, and his most request or an April 2026 trial in his 2020 election interference case, saying his attorneys are exaggerating the amount of discovery they need to review in the case. Listen to Rosenberg’s response here. Only on MSNBC.

The cult of Trumpism

“The cult of Trumpism is now verbal,” said veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation about former President Donald Trump, who has said he will surrender to authorities in Georgia to face accusations of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. “It’s passed on to people who come up to you and ask the ever-present question, you know, ‘how can people vote for this man? Who are these people?’ And you tell them, ‘I’ll tell you who they are: They’re your neighbors, they’re people you know, they’re people you see each and every day. That’s who they are.’ But he’s there. He’s in our minds; he’s in our bloodstream. It is a sickness. It’s a disease that America is carrying – Trumpitis.” Watch more of the conversation here.

The state of America and the 2024 presidential race

“We have witnessed now for years, and years, and years out on the stump, the greatest political showman of our time, maybe of any time, Donald J. Trump. He’s also a deeply dangerous national security threat. That’s who he is. We’ve failed to confront that reality. We’ve failed to ask people, like General Kelly, General Mattis, Mitch McConnell, a host of Republican: Step up to the plate, step up to the plate….This is deeply depressing at a certain level, that not a single legitimate Republican can stand up and confront this deeply dangerous narcissist who thinks it’s great to get out every day and be so negative about this country. If you listen to him on the stump, if you listen to his speeches, his 90-minute speeches, they are deeply, deeply divisive, in addition to being horribly negative about the immediate future of this country,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire, Chris Matthews and Lanhee Chen as they discuss and analyze and the state of America and the 2024 presidential race following a recent York Times/Siena College poll that found President Biden is on stronger footing than he was a year ago—but he is neck-and-neck in a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump.

What’s important to Americans today?

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) about how everyday Americans feel about the country right now. “You’ve got a 9-year-old boy….You’re taking him to basketball camp. You do your own grocery shopping. What do you hear? What is important to people in Ohio that they talk to you about?” asks Barnicle. Watch Ryan’s response here.

What happened to “America’s Mayor?”

Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle talks with former White House Director of Communications Jennifer Palmieri about Rudy Giuliani, formerly known as “America’s Mayor” following 9/11 and then Donald Trump’s attorney, having conceded in a court filing that he made “false” statements about two Georgia 2020 election workers who have now sued him for the baseless claims of fraud that he made against them. Watch the conversation here.

President Biden honors Emmett Till and his mother

Morning Joe’s Willie Geist, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Mike Barnicle discuss President Joe Biden having signed anti-lynching legislation and a proclamation to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois, where Emmett was from, and Mississippi, where he was killed, stating “darkness and denialism can hide much but they erase nothing” before memorializing the Black teenager who was brutally killed in 1955, and paying tribute to the activism of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who helped drive the civil rights movement. “He’s an emotional guy…capable of tears over loss—not his loss—your loss, our loss, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for being the decent human being that you know, that I know, that we all know,” says Barnicle about President Biden. “He doesn’t get enough credit for it.” You can watch the segment here.

The GOP divide

Watch this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and USA TODAY Washington bureau chief Susan Page about the different factions within the Republican Party in the House of Representative today, following House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct. “How many elements of the Republican Party are there, and how do you cover this?” asks Barnicle. Hear Page’s response here.

McCarthy threatens Biden impeachment

Listen in on this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire, Eugene Robinson, Elise Jordan and Mike Barnicle as they discuss Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggesting that House Republicans may be approaching the point where they’d pursue an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, marking McCarthy’s most explicit threat of impeaching the president to date. “Are we watching a democracy collapse in full public view, in plain view, that these people like Kevin McCarthy talking about impeaching Joe Biden rather than, ‘don’t look over there; don’t look at Donald Trump?’ And if any of them were asked, ‘could you tell us how you feel about Peter Stager,’ they wouldn’t know what I was talking about, or they wouldn’t know the origin of that question. Peter Stager, who we just mentioned earlier in the news, sentenced to four years for beating a police officer at the request – basically there in the Capitol – of Donald J. Trump. They wouldn’t know him. They don’t care about him. And they don’t care about the country, I would submit,” says Barnicle about the GOP threatening to impeach President Biden. Join the conversation here.

DeSantis: “I’m not a number two guy”

Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle weigh in on the presidential candidacy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is polling at a distant second to former President Donald Trump in 2024 GOP polling, after DeSantis said he would not agree to be Trump’s running mate because “I’m not a number two guy.” Hear the Trump campaign’s response and analysis on DeSantis’ prospects.

Iowa lawmakers pass new abortion ban

Listen in on this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the Republican Party’s continued attack on reproductive rights after Iowa’s state legislature voted to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—despite the majority of Iowans believing abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to a recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. “We are talking once again about one of the more pivotal moments in public life for everyone: Whether or not a woman has an abortion. It’s been going on for decades, and it continues, and it’s incredible that one political party in many states continues to go back at it in terms of offending—offending women by taking the government and putting them not only into their bedrooms but into their doctor’s offices.” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.

Trump’s tipping point?

Join this Morning Joe conversation among Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle and 2024 Presidential hopeful Chris Christieas they talk about the record of former President Donald Trump. “Going forward, do you think that Donald Trump, off of his record and off of his fake fighting, do you think that he’s a danger to the country in the future? And if, by some chance, he became the Republican nominee for president, would you vote for the Republican nominee for president? Would you support him as the nominee?” Barnicle asked of Christie, a former New Jersey Governor. Watch Christie explain why he won’t support Trump, taking into account Trump’s ongoing denial of the 2020 election results.

U.S. help for Ukraine

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby about President Joe Biden’s controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine—how it will help the Ukrainians now “keeping them in the fight” and how the U.S. will work with them after the war with Russia on demining efforts.

What has the GOP done to this country?

This Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Katty Kay and Mike Barnicle revolves around the state of America and the Republican Party, after former Vice President Mike Pence was confronted by a voter unhappy with his actions on January 6, 2021 and a Trump-appointed judge blocked key Biden Administration agencies and officials from meeting and communicating with social media companies about “protected speech,” in an extraordinary preliminary injunction that could have profound effects on the First Amendment. “It’s midnight in America for the Republicans,” says Barnicle. “America is at its end. The diminishment of America is obvious to everyone, they tell us. The lights are about to go out on our democracy, they continue to tell us. They have all of these contrived ads.…They can’t wait to out negative the other candidate on a stage, a platform or in a Q&A. And you keep wondering: When is America going to—and when are Americans going to—say what is wrong with these people? What has happened to this country in the sense of what the Republicans have done to this country?”

Devotion to Trump

The Morning Joe panel of journalists Mike Barnicle, Katty Kay and Vaughn Hillyard discuss the appeal for some Americans still devoted to supporting former President Donald Trump despite all his legal woes as he seeks a return to the White House, following Trump having held a jam-packed rally in South Carolina that drew a massive crowd significantly larger than the population of the town that hosted it. Watch the conversation here.

Morning Joe on Trump appointed judges

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and NBC News senior executive editor for national security David Rohde about the impact judicial appointments of former President Donald Trump will have on the future of America, after a federal judge appointed by Trump restricted parts of the Biden Administration from contacting social media sites.