Entries from Oct 2016
Gowdy on the Clinton email issue

U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) joins Morning Joe’s senior contributor Mike Barnicle to discuss the recent resurgence in interest surrounding Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s email scandal following the FBI’s statement that the investigation will resume. Barnicle asks Gowdy: “When the next Congress convenes in a few weeks in January, can the American public look forward to more and continuing investigations of the email server and Secretary Clinton and perhaps President-elect Clinton at that point?” Listen in to hear Gowdy’s response.

Clinton v. Comey

“The danger of the Clinton campaign going on the attack against (FBI Director James) Comey, while understandable, … [is that] his character is unassailable… His judgment here certainly might be suspect in the eyes of many, but his character? No,” says Morning Joe’s senior contributor Mike Barnicle about Comey coming under fire for his decision so close to Election Day to announce another probe into the email problem that has dogged candidate Hillary Clinton for the entire campaign.

Emails v. Russia?

“One of the things that goes unspoken of, to a large extent, is Russian interference in the American political process,” comments Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barincle in conversation with Rep. and House Committee on Benghazi chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). “Would you care to rank, in terms of priority, Hillary Clinton’s emails versus the clearly established Russian interference in our electoral process? Which is more important?” Listen in to hear Gowdy’s response and comparisons.

Trump & Tax Returns, Business with Russia?

“What about people who want to know whether Donald J. Trump does business with Russia [or] gets any money from Russia? Why not release his tax returns now?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of Kellyanne Conway, the Republican candidate’s campaign manager. Hear her answer here. Only MSNBC.

Weiner, the FBI, and the Clinton Foundation but not Russia?

“What’s so amazing to me is that we have the Russians tampering with an American election and it goes under the radar,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle contrasting the alleged tampering with the rash of media attention around FBI Director James Comey’s decision to send a letter to Congress notifying them of the discovery of further emails found on a computer shared by former Rep. Anthony Weiner and his now estranged wife Huma Abedin, a longtime top aide to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Mike Barnicle on the “aggravated voter”

“There is a selective group of people out there. I’ll call them the aggravated voter. They haven’t voted yet. They are available, and you don’t know what this is going to trigger in them. They are aggravated enough that both candidates bother them. So, which candidate is going to bother them the least when they finally do vote? That’s the question,” says Morning Joe senior columnist Mike Barnicle about how the latest news concerning Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s email controversy could effect voter behavior in the final week of the presidential race. Tune in to listen to more of the conversation here.

Mike Barnicle on the internal FBI feud over Hillary Clinton’s email server

“According to three people I spoke to this weekend, all affiliated with the FBI, all retired, two of them very highly placed within the FBI structure, (FBI) director (James) Comey has put his own reputation at risk over the past several days and … there were a couple of reasons (he did it). One, the FBI beneath him is in turmoil. Dissension over this case has been for many, many months. And the director feared once he found out about this new cache of e-mails… that one of the teams of agents working on this case for some months now would leak the story about the discovery of the e-mails on (embattled former Rep.) Anthony Weiner’s computer and that would make the entire process look even more tainted than a lot of people feel it appears right now. That’s the principle reason he leaked it, but the larger story here is: There has never been a grand jury empaneled in this case, which has severely aggravated many agents,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a conversation about the internal FBI feud over the probe into the private email server of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Mike Barnicle on hoping the World Series goes seven games

“We are going back to Cleveland. Hopefully it goes seven. If it goes seven, that means three more days (that) we don’t have to deal with what we actually have to deal with,” said Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during discussion of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians before the conversation inevitably turned to politics. Tune in to listen to more of the baseball conversation here between Barnicle and Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough.

Mike Barnicle on “one of the best campaign ads ever.”

Watch as the Morning Joe panel shares the viral campaign ad for the reelection of Gerald Daugherty as Commissioner Travis County in Texas. The ad features Daugherty’s wife, Charlyn, who suggests it would be better for Daugherty to continue as county commissioner rather than stay at home. Tune in to watch Daugherty’s terrific campaign ad and the Morning Joe panel’s response to “one of the best campaign ads ever.”

Wikileaks emails show a rift and lack of transparency within the Clinton campaig...

During the Morning Joe conversation about Wikileaks emails that show a rift and a lack of transparency within the Clinton campaign, senior contributor Mike Barnicle says: “The narrowness of this election…and the contentiousness about the Wikileaks’ email drops and the email server itself prove the dangers are potentially fatal of an overly protective palace guard. Your duty to a candidate or president I would think is to tell the bad news first.” Listen in on more of the discussion between Barnicle and Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough about the latest developments in Clinton’s email problem.

Mike Barnicle on the growing outrage over repaying enlistment bonuses

“Enlistment bonuses were provided to people joining the National Guard. They go to Iraq or Afghanistan. They serve their country. They come back and they’re hounded by bill collectors because of bureaucrat mistakes. I’m sorry. Stop it,” said senior contributor Mike Barnicle on Morning Joe during a segment by NBC’s Anne Thompson about the growing outrage over nearly 10,000 National Guard members were ordered to repay enlistment bonuses. Find out more about the controversy here.

“I don’t think the old rules apply to a lot of aspects of the campaign.”...

“I don’t think the old rules apply to a lot of aspects of the campaign,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle on MSNBC’s Morning Joe during a conversation about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s run for the White House without traditional ad spending, field offices and polling. “I do think you can run sort of a guerrilla campaign – even as a national candidate. You can feed off other people’s polls – news media polls. You can feed off of getting free TV (time). But when it comes (to) New Hampshire … you have to have a field operation to target them and get them to vote.” Hear more of the conversation among Barnicle, show hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough and political analyst Nicolle Wallace about how Trump has defied traditional campaigning in the 2016 election.

“You can just lose yourself in baseball.”

“It’s such a relief from the campaign news and political news. You can just lose yourself in baseball,” said Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle about Game One of the World Series played last night. Hear the conversation between Barnicle and host Joe Scarborough about baseball – instead of politics – for all of 55 seconds on Morning Joe.

Mike Barnicle on three elements still alive and very active in the presidential ...

With two weeks remaining until the presidential election, the Morning Joe panel weighs in on the candidates’ chances for winning. Explains senior contributor Mike Barnicle: “There are three elements still alive and very active in the campaign. One is turnout. What will the turnout be after this dreadful campaign with many, many months of voters listening to this daily? The second element is going to be voter suppression. Is that going to have an impact on the election? The third element is the down ballot. What’s going to happen with the widening in the race ?” Hear from Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough and the rest of the panel here about voter turnout and the other factors in this tumultuous campaign.

Mike Barnicle’s prediction on who will win the World Series

“The [Cleveland] Cavaliers get their rings….The Cleveland Indians begin game one of the World Series. It’s great for Cleveland. It’s great to see these two mid-Western teams in it,” says Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle in conversation with the show’s host Joe Scarborough about the Cavs celebrating their first-ever NBA championship and the Indians in their first World Series since 1948. Tune in to hear Barnicle’s prediction on which team will win the World Series – the Indians or the Chicago Cubs.

“The Dangers of Hillary Clinton”

“There are too many people in Washington who have been there far too long. The only jobs they’ve ever had are within the framework of politics. They completely miss the pain, the suffering that so many Americans endured during the winter of 2008 and 2009. They still don’t seem to understand the concept of loss. So many people lost homes, hope for their future [and] their children, [and their] 401K plans. These are the same people who put their children at risk of loss in the wars that we’ve been fighting for the last 15 years, and it seems in the Senate, especially in the Senate, and the House that they just don’t grasp it,” said Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a conversation with the show’s host Mika Brzezinski and The New York Times’ Nicholas Confessore about the Times’ recent op-ed, “The Dangers of Hillary Clinton” by Ross Douthat. Hear more about the article and discussion surrounding it on MSNBC.

Futile Attempt to Trump Supporters

“There’s a huge percentage of (Republican presidential candidate Donald) Trump supporters, Trump voters, whose needs ought to be addressed by the Democratic Party, (and) have not been addressed by the Democratic Party. What do the Democrats do?” asks Morning Joe’s veteran columnist of the show’s guest Sam Stein of the Huffington Post about the attempts to compartmentalize Trump supporters and their concerns. Tune in to hear Stein’s response.

Proud Republicans?

“I want to ask each of you: How proud… are you of your party today and (of) your candidate? What happens to the Republican Party after election day?” asks Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of the show’s guests Benjamin Ginsberg, a top Republican elections lawyer, and Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Listen to their answers here.

Trump’s Talk about a Rigged Election

“You can have Donald Trump’s ear but his ears are blocked. Does Trump realize the damage to himself and to the process by continually harping on a rigged election?” asks Morning Joe senior columnist Mike Barnicle during a conversation on the show ahead of the third and final presidential debate.

Mike Barnicle on the Conclusion of Presidential Debate Season

“I shutter to think of what [Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump] might do… I would have him talk calmly and confidently about the bulk of his supporters about how much they’ve been neglected and forgotten by the establishment in Washington [and] the establishment in Wall Street,” suggests Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle ahead of the third presidential debate. His recommendations follow Trump’s rally in Colorado Springs, where he deviated from his routine by not sharing the most recent poll numbers with his audience. Instead, Trump went on the offensive saying: “I don’t believe in the polls anymore” and “you can’t believe anything you see.” More on this topic here.