Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle discuss the illustrious legacy of astronaut John Glenn, who died December 8, 2016, at the age of 95. Says Barnicle: “The rockets that we see on TV today or have seen in the past, those rockets allowed the rocket that took John Glenn into space for the first time as an American around the earth. That rocket was loud, but John Glenn was not loud. His service, his career was humble and quiet. On the day that rocket left the Earth on February 1962 at Cape Canaveral…much of the country listened to it on radio. Gathered around radios in gas stations and school auditoriums. TV was nowhere what it is today. John Glenn remained true to who he was, the spirit of his life and the spirit of his service until the day he died. Hear more on Glenn from Barnicle, Scarborough and presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who together weave into context the significance of Glenn’s iconic moment and life for younger generations.
In memorializing astronaut John Glenn and highlighting his longtime friendship with his military buddy, baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle explains: “Ted Williams always said that if he had not been the greatest hitter who ever lived, he would have stayed in the Marine Corps and been the greatest fighter pilot the Marine Corps ever had. But John Glenn’s life was a trajectory of the ultimate American story: World War II, Korea, one of the seven original Mercury astronauts and a truly humble guy. They had a night for Ted Williams in Boston in 1988. John Glenn was there along with Joe DiMaggio, several other icons, and Glenn was electric in just his appearance; but, he never articulated anything about what he had done or who he was.” Hear much more about Glenn’s monumental legacy here in this tribute to the American hero who died on December 8, 2016 at age 95.
While the Morning Joe panel examines how the conservative cabinet choices of President-elect Donald Trump will impact certain government programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, senior contributor Mike Barnicle suggests: “The confirmation hearings, a couple of them, are going to be very, very interesting – especially the (health secretary Tom) Price confirmation.” Listen to more of the panel’s analysis of how the Trump administration is shaping up here.
“I grew up on a street where there were seven Gold Star families from World War II. It was a war that changed this country — I think much more so than September 11 did because the foundation of this country moved in a different direction, a more progressive direction because of the War. The big thing about the War is: We now communicate through cell phones, we have a million cable channels and the internet gives us access to everything — no matter where we live. But World War II is the connecting tissue, the connecting fiber of this country for many, many families,” said Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a conversation on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.” Jon Meacham, you have written about the culture of this country, the culture of our politics and how it’s changed, but one thing we had then that we don’t have now…is a sense of national service that began in conflict in the War but then sort of dissipated over the years to the detriment of this country. Listen in for more of the conversation between Barnicle and Random House Executive Editor Jon Meacham about how America’s involvement in World War II, following the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, impacted and changed the country as a whole.
As President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team continues to try and distance itself from Michael Flynn Jr., son of Trump’s National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn, after causing “pizzagate,” Mike Barnicle says the elder Flynn is not immune from the controversy. “General Flynn has also forwarded, retweeted stuff that have to do with absolutely ludicrous conspiracy theories. He has done it multiple times. It gets to his position in the White House, which requires no confirmation. I can’t think of a more critical component of the presidency right now given the fact that Donald Trump has very little experience in foreign affairs, military affairs, fighting a war– than the national security adviser’s position.” Tune in to watch footage of a recent Morning Joe interview where Barnicle asks Vice President-elect Mike Pence about Michael Flynn Jr.’s involvement with the Trump transition team.
“I think it’s time to get past the tweets….I get it. I understand it. The fear of the future and a Trump presidency. But I would just remind people: 1968 was an absolutely horrendous year. We got through it. We survived it. It was the heart of the Vietnam war, the Tet offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the Chicago riots. The country collapsing around us. We survived. We prospered. We’re America. So let’s stop it,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a conversation about President-Elect Donald Trump. Hear more of the conversation here, including Bloomberg Politics Managing Editor John Heilemann sharing his thoughts on the “normalization” of Trump.
As the Morning Joe panel discusses a post-election poll from Bloomberg Politics that shows President-elect Donald Trump’s favorability has risen to 51 percent since August 2015, senior contributor Mike Barnicle says: “I think it’s helpful to stop this hand-wringing. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know where the Trump presidency is going to go. But this is still the United States of America. Let’s have a little hope that things will be okay.” Listen to more of the panel’s discussion here and comments made by Vice President Joe Biden in regard to Trump at the previous night’s Ripple of Hope Awards Dinner, which honored Biden.
As the Morning Joe panel begins the show by reflecting on Vice President Joe Biden’s comment that he might be interested in running for the presidency in 2020, senior contributor Mike Barnicle teasingly says: “I want to see the New Hampshire primary between Joe Biden and John Kerry. Both going around in walkers up there in the snow…[Biden] is in New York tonight. Maybe he’ll really kick off the campaign,” Barnicle says with a chuckle. Tune in to listen to more of the panel’s thoughts on Biden’s potential bid for the presidency.
As the Morning Joe panel continues to discuss President-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing search for a Secretary of State, veteran columnist Mike Barnicle explains: “The consensus is that the (General James) Mattis appointment is a home run. The appointment of a new Secretary of State is really critical. And again, the consensus in terms of the people I spoke with is it’s a good thing he’s taking this long to appoint a Secretary of State. (My sources) always throw in there that you’ve got Mattis, a strong Secretary of State (and) you’re going to need that to counterbalance the potential negative influence of (National security advisor) General (Michael) Flynn.” Listen to more of the panel’s conversation on the candidates Trump is considering for Administration positions.
