“Your Hair looks great today, Joe. I meant to tell you. I’m so proud to be here with you,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle to host Joe Scarborough as the panel mocks the Trump Cabinet members who took turns, one after the other, praising President Donald Trump at the Trump Administration’s first Cabinet meeting. Hear the adoration heaped upon President Trump and the Morning Joe admonishment that followed.
“Given your remarks of a few moments ago, are you concerned of the President’s health?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a conversation about President Donald Trump’s health. Listen to Pelosi’s response here and the discussion with Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.
“My question to you, Mrs. Pelosi, is the level of expectations in this country about what Washington does is probably a bit a lower today than it was prior to yesterday. What is going to happen to the agenda that both you or even the Republicans have on tax reform, on healthcare, on infrastructure? What’s going to happen?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a conversation about next steps for Congress and the Trump Administration following former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony yesterday. Hear Pelosi’s views on President Trump’s agenda.
“Senator, had you or the committee been given a heads up by either Admiral Rogers or DNI Director Coats that they were going to take this position in terms of the questioning?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of Sen. Angus King (I-ME) during a conversation about Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rodgers refusing to answer questions about the controversy surrounding the Trump Administration and Russia at their Senate hearing. King says he was “incredulous.” Hear more of the interview here and why a closed session is necessary.
“If you read Comey’s testimony a second time, slowly, let it sink in, it’s clear that Donald J. Trump doesn’t understand the Presidency, the Congress, the government or the city where he’s now living in – Washington, D.C.,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel looks ahead to former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and reviews Comey’s written opening statement. Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski adds about Trump: “He does not believe the rules apply to him.” Hear the rest of the conversation here.
The Morning Joe show opens today with review and discussion of fired FBI Director James Comey’s written opening statement, which gives a vivid preview of what Comey plans to speak on as he testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senior contributor Mike Barnicle comments: “Comey cannot only write, but when you read that – it is literally, the opening argument to a jury, it’s a prosecutor’s opening argument where he spells out a story with a beginning, a middle, and the end: ‘That was the last time I spoke to the President’.” Listen to more of the conversation with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski here.
“The underlying theme here that is truly interesting is: Where is the courage on the part of the Republicans in the United States Senate? When do they summon enough courage to make a statement about what is going on to our country and their party,” asks Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during a panel conversation about former FBI Director James Comey’s upcoming testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and what he might reveal. Listen in on the discussion here.
During the Morning Joe panel discussion about the ongoing chaos within the Trump Administration, including the revelation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had offered his resignation to President Trump amid classes with POTUS, explains senior contributor Mike Barnicle: “There’s also two other elements in this. One is the increasing fear that a lot of people have: Are they damaging their reputations by their alignment with what’s going on? And two: Are they eventually going to have to be saddled with increasing legal fees to defend themselves against whatever internally is going on now and will become public eventually?” Listen to more of the conversation here.
During the Morning Joe discussion of the barrage of news coming daily from within the Trump Administration, the latest being reports that then-FBI Director James Comey said to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he didn’t want to be left alone with President Donald Trump again, in light of President Trump asking Comey to end an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, senior contributor Mike Barnicle teases: “Willie and I have this thing. I’m sort of like Comey and Jeff Sessions with Willie.” Watch the top of the show here.
“All of this – clearly an attempt to get us off of the Russia thing. To paraphrase the immortal words of Joe Lewis: ‘You can run, but you can’t hide.’ Russia is a self-inflicted wound on this Administration,” comments Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during the panel discussion speculating whether President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement was an attempt to deflect attention from the Russia investigations surrounding the Trump campaign and Administration. Watch the conversation here.
“Yesterday was sad. It was depressing. It was cynical. It was a verbal portrait filled with half-truths and no truths — a verbal portrait of America in retreat played out by a man with little understanding of history or our role on the world stage. And for that 38 percent: All I can say is get ready 38 percent – Trump supporters – to buy solar panels made in China at Home Depot in about 10 years. That’s what we are looking forward to,” said Morning Joe’s senior contributor Mike Barnicle during the panel discussion about President Donald J. Trump’s announcement a day earlier that he will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Watch the entire exchange here.
During the continuing discussion of the ongoing Russia controversy surrounding President Donald J. Trump and his Administration, Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle explains: “You have Russian bankers, you have the Russian Ambassador, you have the Trump son-in-law, you have a sitting presidency, the Obama Administration still in office while this incoming Administration is trying to establish a secret back channel to prevent the existing American government from finding out what they’re planning, plotting, talking about. This is incredible. It’s just absolutely mind-boggling.” Hear the whole conversation here.
“Mr. Secretary, none of us here have a clue as to the daily tick-tock of the presidency in that Oval Office. You do. Could you school us on the importance of managing a president’s time? What happens during the course of a day? And what could be done to sort of minimize the chaos that seems to surround this Oval Office?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of former White House Chief of Staff James Baker during a conversation about the importance of resolving internal White House conflicts and efficiently handling President Donald J. Trump’s time. Listen to Baker’s advice here.
“One thing is clear to a lot of people surrounding this, including people involved in the investigation: At the base level there is an inordinate fear of (former National Security Adviser) Michael Flynn in this Presidency – an inordinate fear,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel analyzes the investigation into possible links between Russia and President Donald J. Trump’s campaign. Listen to more of the discussion here.
“This Niagara of Russian stories we get seemingly every hour of every day is clearly interrupting this Presidency from goals and objectives that (President Donald Trump) ought to be concentrated on. There was a horrific bombing yesterday in Kabul, Afghanistan. We have the Paris Accord. How much time has he spent listening to truly, truly well-informed people about both sides of this? I don’t know,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel discusses the continuing Russia investigation swirling around President Donald Trump and his Administration. Listen to more from Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough.
“The fact is that the Trump White House today is totally preoccupied with one thing. It’s not the Paris Accord. It’s not Afghanistan. It’s Russia and their involvement in Russia, and the President’s personal involvement in Russia. If you look at his tweets just over the past couple of days – there’s one tweet where he basically accuses John Brennan and James Clapper of lying under oath. It’s just absurd, the continuation of this spectacle involving Russia,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel discusses the ongoing investigation into Russia. Listen to the discussion here.
“There’s no good news for The White House at all – whenever the word Russia comes up,” says Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during a conversation about former FBI Director James Comey’s scheduled testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week. “Comey’s testimony next week certainly will be must-watch TV.” Listen in on more of the conversation that followed the announcement by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that all Russia-related questions will now be referred to attorney Marc Kasowitz.
