“Senator Schumer…There’s been a lot of Democrats who have stood on the floor of the Senate and outside the Senate complaining about and pointing out the inequity, the outrages that are taking place in the streets of Minneapolis today. Why haven’t you gotten like a dozen Democratic senators and maybe a dozen New York City cops flown to Minneapolis, stood there in the crowds and said to the guys wearing masks, ‘we’ve brought people who know how to operate, we’ve brought people who know what law and order really means, and you are wrong, and they are right, and that’s why we’re here?’” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a Morning Joe conversation regarding tensions in Minnesota reaching a breaking point following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as daily clashes between protestors and federal agents—who have come under criticism for their inadequate and brief training in many cases—have intensified across Minneapolis. Hear what Schumer has to say here.
“Wouldn’t one of the big things be with people retiring at the age of 64, 65 and lifespans continuing to increase, 79, 80 years of age being average, sometimes, what happens to health care costs for those people, 62, 65 retiring, who walk around looking for part time jobs, looking for something to do, not finding anything to do, loneliness becomes a factor, their physical health might become a factor. What do we do about that?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of TIME senior health correspondent Alice Park who joins Morning Joe to discuss her new article “The New Old Age,” which explores how the traditional American life arc—school, work, family, and retirement in one’s 60s—is becoming a relic as life expectancy and health spans increase around the globe. Watch the conversation here.
“During the course of putting the piece together, assembling the reportage on the piece, did you run into at all the idea that there seems to be a very short training period for ICE agents, and their backgrounds might not be all law enforcement prior to getting to be a member of the ICE brigade that goes to places like Minneapolis, and that could result in them using force that is truly banned by most large police departments in the country?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of ProPublica reporter Nicole Foy who joins Morning Joe to discuss her reporting that found over 40 cases of ICE agents using chokeholds and other moves that can cut off blood flow to the brain or airflow—controversial techniques banned by a significant number of police departments across the country.
“You two boys changed the way news is delivered and devoured over the past 20 years, and my question to you is: Given the attention span of today’s news based customers, you’ve fed that as well, quite well, but how do you maintain—and you have maintained thus far—the credibility that comes with delivering news?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen who join Morning Joe to discuss their new editorial piece “Behind the Curtain: 20 years of Media Revolution,” which reflects on two decades of media transformation—starting from their departure from legacy news institutions forward to the current fractured landscape. Watch their conversation here.
“Adam, so much of your work is filled with insight. I want to ask you one question about one of the themes in your book: ‘Ask for advice, not feedback.’ How do you do that in a culture where everybody looks at their iPhones thinking that’s going to give them the answer to every question they ask? How to lose weight, which direction to take to get to Chicago, stuff like that. How do you do it?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of organizational psychologist Adam Grant who joins Morning Joe to discuss his book “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things,” which challenges conventional wisdom about talent and explores how anyone can achieve greatness through character development, making mistakes and effective learning strategies. Watch the conversation here.
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) about the White House’s new website with a rewrite of the historical record of January 6, 2021, hailing the pro-Trump mob who stormed the U.S. Capitol five years ago as “peaceful protesters” who were provoked by law enforcement and the missing plaque that is by law required to be on display at the Capitol to honor the police who defended democracy that day five years ago.
Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple joined Morning Joe to discuss his new high-profile exposé on White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, based on 11 interviews, during which Wiles said President Donald Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality,” called Vice President JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and concluded that Pam Bondi “completely whiffed” the early handling of the Epstein files. “Chris, I’ve known you for a while. You can be a very charming guy, but charming doesn’t cover 11 sit downs with the chief of staff of the White House….Over the course of 11 interviews, did she ever once say, you know, ‘what is this for?’” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Whipple. Hear Whipple’s answer and learn a little more about the making of this deeply reported profile of Wiles.
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Katty Kay and Mike Barnicle as they weigh in on the latest regarding the Trump Administration’s controversial boat strike operations as Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, who was authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a controversial Sept. 2 follow-up strike that reportedly killed the last two survivors of a Venezuelan boat targeted for suspected drug smuggling, is set to brief senior members of the Senate and House Armed Services committees on the Trump administration’s actions. “The darkest element of this is clearly, in my mind, the concerted effort to hang out Admiral Bradley…You cannot find a single person in the upper echelon of the Pentagon who has been there for the past five, six, ten years, who will not tell you that Frank Bradley has the highest credentials in terms of character, courage and competence,” says Barnicle about the public appearance that the Trump Administration is laying responsibility for the second strike that the killed survivors on Adm. Bradley rather than on Secretary Hegseth.
MS NOW Senior Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff joins Morning Joe to talk about his latest reporting on the ongoing, aggressive immigration crackdowns by ICE agents in various U.S. cities, including Chicago, the hometown of Pope Leo XIV, who came out in support of a rare special message released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in recent days that lamented a “climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement” during this second Donald Trump administration. “The bishops issued a statement last week about this specific topic. Parts of it were read in many Catholic churches this past Sunday….The pastor of this particular church that I was at…received an ovation when he indicated Pope Leo said this, and this is what it’s all about. This is going to be a hot button issue for the Catholic Church. They are all over this,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle about the Catholic Church ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Ken Burns joins the Morning Joe roundtable to talk about his new documentary series and companion book entitled “The American Revolution,” which examines the virtues and contradictions of the birth of the United States. “Thomas Paine, who was the greatest pamphleteer in the history of writing, I would submit, he says, ‘our great title is Americans.’ And it’s a story about sacrifice, about honor, about hard work, about love, of what you hope your country to be. And it’s a story that resonates specifically about today, about the times we are living through now—and the toughness, the grit, the stamina of Americans in Thomas Paine’s words, and it leads to everything we have today,” offers up veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Watch the segment here.
CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga and Israeli news anchor Yonit Levi joined Morning Joe to discuss their new children’s book “Don’t Feed the Lion,” which discusses antisemitism and how young people can stand up to hate. “I’m interested in the `why’ we have to talk to young people about antisemitism—why this sudden growth, this seemingly explosion of antisemitic behavior, verbally and physically, in this country and around the world? Why?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Golodryga and Levi. Hear their answers here.
The Morning Joe panel is joined by MSNBC host Jacqueline Alemany who the day prior had interviewed Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy, who has announced he is running for Congress in New York. “He’s never indicated any interest in running for public office until now. Sitting with you, he seemed very polished, very professional and quite informed on several issues and with a specific point of view, no?,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Alemany. Hear her response about how candidate Schlossberg might differ from social media influencer Schlossberg.
“People instinctively are so much smarter than the people who represent them in Congress. Something happens when you go to Congress—you isolate yourself from people’s every day lives, but there’s something out there. You can just sense it. You can feel it. People know that something is wrong with what’s going on in this country governmentally, and odd little things, I think, play a role in it. I think knocking down part of the White House had an impact on ordinary people. They went ‘what’s up with that?’ Jonathan, I don’t know about you, but internally in the White House, what do they think is going on really? Does anybody there know the reality of what’s going on in the country?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Morning Joe’s Jonathan Lemire during this conversation about President Donald Trump and the Republican Party disregarding the “affordability crisis” in America.
“One of the elements of Veterans Day—and it ought to be an element of every single day—is for more Americans to realize the meanings of the words ‘service’ and ‘sacrifice,’” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle as the Morning Joe panel honors American soldiers on Veterans Day. “When you serve the United States in uniform, no matter where it is around the world, you bring America to people who are unfamiliar with the reality of America: This country is free. We are based in freedom. The roots of our country are based in revolution, and in freedom, and in independence. And we bring that gift, and have brought that gift, to many countries throughout the world across the years. If you take the time, just a brief period of time to read about the wars that we have been involved in—especially World War II. We brought more to Europe and the world than anything you could think of. We brought freedom; we brought liberty; we brought release from a holocaust; we brought release from the grip of a strangler, a man who was strangling the word democracy and government, Adolf Hitler. We brought so much, and it remains after we leave. We have had some nightmares. We have had Vietnam. We have had Iraq and Afghanistan. We have had a horrendous withdrawal from Afghanistan; but the spirit of America, the spirit of the sacrifice and the service of so many Americans who go to these countries, who wear our uniform, who go because they are asked to go and told to go and they follow orders; that spirit, that sense of service and sacrifice is eternal.”
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Washington Post foreign affairs columnist and best-selling author Fareed Zakaria, who stopped by to talk about his book, “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present,” out now in paperback. “What has happened to the United States Senate?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during the discussion about America’s “broken down” system of government. Hear Zakaria’s response here and why it’s “bad for democracy.”
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire, Mike Barnicle and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who joined the panel to discuss concerns from the Jewish community following Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral race for New York City, as he is set to become the city’s first Muslim mayor. “What do you want him to do?,” asks Barnicle. Hear Greenblatt’s answer about his primary desire to keep New York Jewish people safe amid the violence, harassment and vandalism that’s at an all-time high.
“The candidates matched the anger in Virginia, in New Jersey and various other places in this country. They matched the anger that voters feel. This is an angry country right now. The Democrats who ran are not afraid to show emotion—that’s what you have to do going forward. The Republicans have a real problem now. What do they do?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski about the implications behind the Democratic Party having scored major victories across the U.S. in the off-year elections, setting the stage for a midterm clash as the parties begin plotting next steps on the day after the elections.
Tune in as Mike Barnicle joins Way Too Early with Ali Vitali to share his thoughts on the Democratic Party having scored major victories across the United States in the off-year elections, including Zohran Mamdani’s historic election as New York City’s first Muslim mayor and two female governors in New Jersey and for the first time in Virginia, setting the stage for a big midterm clash as the parties begin plotting next steps on the day after the election. “It’s an entry exam for the Democratic Party….The Democratic candidates yesterday, they met people where they are, where they live, and they talked about issues that are epidemic in this country. You know, people worried about paychecks, people worrying about their children’s schooling, people worrying about obviously affordability, which is the whole package….That’s what Democrats really have to focus on: Talk to people where people live,” says Barnicle about the expectation of American voters ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“He lived an epic life….I don’t know that the obituaries and the memories of Dick Cheney will survive his participation in really fomenting our participation in the Iraq war, which is a disaster then, and it’s remained a disaster since its inception and since it’s wind down; but, at the end of his life, at the end of his life, Dick Cheney stood for democracy. And that should be equally important to his career in terms of Iraq and everything else, in terms of him making himself vice president under George W. Bush. He stood for democracy, and it took strength, it took courage to do it, and did it,” explained veteran columnist Mike Barnicle as the Morning Joe panel remembers former Vice President Dick Cheney, who died at 84 years old, and late in his life condemned the actions of Donald Trump, calling him the “greatest threat to our republic” in the nation’s history.
“The blanket of fear that one man, Donald Trump, has spread over the media, over the politicians, over everyone in Congress on the Republican side—the layer of fear that has infected American politics because of him is just incredible,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle as the Morning Joe panel discusses Republicans mostly staying quiet on President Donald Trump’s controversial pardon of crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who has ties to the Trump family’s crypto endeavors.
Mike Barnicle is a veteran print and broadcast journalist recognized for his street-smart, straightforward style honed over nearly four decades in the field. The Massachusetts native has written 4,000-plus columns collectively for The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and the New York Daily News, and continues to champion the struggles and triumphs of the every man by giving voice to the essential stories of today on television, radio, and in print.
