As the Morning Joe team discusses President-Elect Donald Trump’s sense of loyalty toward staffers and particularly campaign manager and adviser Kellyanne Conway, in light of her scathing comments against former Gov. Mitt Romney being considered for Secretary of State, veteran columnist Mike Barnicle cites an article in The New York Times by Maggie Haberman and says Trump has an “unwavering sense of loyalty. No matter what happens. No matter what (Conway) did, what he said.”
“This goes on in every transition…It went on in 2008 in the Obama [administration with] Secretary of State… John Kerry gave Barack Obama the podium in 2004 to help put him on the ascendancy and endorsed him early. [Kerry] does not get Secretary of State – said nothing, went quietly into the night back into the Senate. But there has never, ever been anything quite as remarkable as Kellyanne Conway’s [comments],” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel analyzes the scrutiny that Trump detractor and former Governor Mitt Romney is receiving from other political figures, especially President Elect-Donald Trump’s campaign manager and adviser Kellyanne Conway, as he is being considered as a candidate for Trump’s secretary of state, proving that supporting a potential presidential nominee doesn’t guarantee a position in his cabinet. Listen to more of the discussion here.
In discussing world leaders’ mixed reactions to the weekend death of the controversial former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle recalled covering the mass emigration of Cubans in 1980 juxtaposed with a statement by Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, who described Castro as a “larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century.” Said Barnicle: “I can remember covering the Mariel Harbor evacuation in 1980. I was in Key West, Florida. We rented a boat and went out to meet the flotilla. It was the flotilla of many, many ships coming across the bay. To see, hear and speak to people…who risk their lives and the lives of their children to flee that island [about] why they wanted to flee that island would put a whole new twist on Prime Minster Trudeau’s statement.” Watch more on the story here.
During the ongoing conversation about President-Elect Donald Trump’s cabinet choices, host Joe Scarborough insists – despite all the jockeying by those around Trump – that he alone will make the decisions. Veteran columnist Mike Barnicle adds that for the position of Secretary of State, Trump has some “pretty good choices. In addition to Governor [Mitt] Romney, there is General [David] Petraeus and General [John] Kelly. General Kelly is a terrific candidate … and would accrue to the value of the Trump administration on the continuing war on terror because Secretary of State is much more now than just going around the world shaking hands with diplomats. There’s a internal security component that is vital, and John Kelly would be a terrific asset.” Watch more of the discussion here.
During the Morning Joe conversation about the possibility of President-Elect Donald Trump choosing his staunch and vocal adversary, former Gov. Mitt Romney, as his Secretary of State, senior contributor Mike Barnicle said: “I can report from sources close to Governor Romney that he will not be apologizing. I can also report that the problem wouldn’t be a rogue Secretary of State. The bureaucracy within the state department is of its own weight. It is something that is difficult to move. There is one way to clear this up: For Donald Trump to appoint the secretary of state today.” Listen in on what the panel thinks is the likelihood of Romney being selected and when that might or might not happen. Only on MSNBC.
“Everything thing Rudy Giuliani has said publicly in seeking this job is a actually a disqualifier,” says Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during a conversation about former New York Mayor Giuliani’s public campaign for the job of Secretary of State in the Trump administration. Hear more from Barnicle and Random House Executive Editor Jon Meacham on the topic here.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s break from tradition in abandoning the press pool to attend a private dinner with his family at Manhattan’s famed 21 Club, Morning Joe’s senior contributor Mike Barnicle and the panel discuss the ramifications of Trump’s break from protocol. “Given the current climate toward the media — and the demonization of the media during the course of the campaign hasn’t helped — but everything changed for the Presidency on the afternoon of November 22nd 1963. You need a press pool. It’s a protective press pool,” explains Barnicle. Listen to more of the conversation here. Only on MSNBC.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Oh) joins Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle to share his thoughts of what’s to come for the Democratic Party following the monumental fall of the ‘blue wall’ in the 2016 presidential election. Asks Barnicle: “Goodyear, Firestone, people who live in bungalows, two-family homes, blue collar workers, black and white and Hispanic — make the argument right now of why they should remain or go back to the Democratic Party that has been with them since 1932?” Listen in to Ryan’s answer about the challenges that Democrats face in the Midwest.
“In retrospect, it’s easy to look at it in the rear-view mirror and indict [Hillary Clinton’s] campaign. It was a very well-run campaign. But gender wasn’t the only issue here. [There was] rage, frustration, and anxiety among the voters. There’s real anger about inequity–class was the issue, income was the issue,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel discusses President Obama’s support for Clinton and his mandate for the Democrats in the wake of the country’s election of Donald Trump.
“There is a growing…resentment of both Clintons for…the opportunities and the chances they had [and] did not take advantage of. You hear repeatedly from Democrats…that you cannot run for president of the United States basically on a platform of ‘it’s my turn,’ which is what they think that campaign was all about,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the panel discusses how some in the Democratic party feel toward the Clinton family now.
“[Bernie Sanders] is right. He’s absolutely right,” proclaims Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the show’s panel reacts to Senator Bernie Sanders’ comments on ABC’s The View that working class voters didn’t believe in Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and that the Democratic party hasn’t been as strong as it should be. Tune in for more discussion about the problems in the Democratic party here.
Morning Joe senior contributor asks host Joe Scarborough and former RNC chairman Michael Steele an important question as the only two people on the show who have ever run for public office: “In a certain sense, the country does not know Donald Trump right now. They know who he was and who they voted for, but they don’t know who he is as president-elect. And we have not heard from him since the election. Do you think it’s approaching the time when… [the] president-elect of the United States…has to speak to the nation about his intent as president-elect?” Hear their answers here. Only on MSNBC.
On Morning Joe, veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and show host Joe Scarborough discuss the lack of qualifications of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to be Secretary of State in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. “He’s drunk with his own power,” says Scarborough. Listen in for more insights on Trump’s possible cabinet choices.
“First of all, the country was owed what happened yesterday. This peaceful transition. The acknowledgements from president Obama, speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, (and) Donald Trump…speaking more humanely and more soberly about the job that he is about to takeover. I don’t think …we could look at history and see a time when a peaceful transition was more necessary and needed to be spoken about publicly by the people involved in it,” said Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a conversation about the peaceful transition of power that took place following the election of Donald Trump. Listen to more of the conversation with Barnicle and host Joe Scarborough here.
“The important thing to remember here… while everybody is grabbing the arms of their chairs and squeezing their knuckles in fear or dread, is: Something happens on the way to January 20th. And it’s the first full intel briefing that a president-elect gets and that’s when you realize the expanse of the job, the awesome responsibility of the job, the dangers out there in the world. And that will change Donald J. Trump,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the show’s panel encourages viewers to remain optimistic about the country’s future despite the unexpected victory for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Election Day. Listen in here.
“There was quite a parallel to 2004 with the exit polls that came in the were very encouraging for Senator [John] Kerry’s candidacy. To the point where Bob Shrum…who is a very skilled operative, one of the best in the country, went to John Kerry and… said let be me the first to shake your hand, Mr. President. That was at about a quarter past 9:00 on that evening on Election Day 2004. Last night, I was speaking to someone in the Clinton campaign at about 9:30, they were still very encouraged by exit polling that they were getting from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle about the similarities in the outcome for the Democratic presidential candidates of the 2004 and 2016 elections. Listen to more of the discussion here.
“I’m sure there was a reverse Bradley effect in some quarters. I have no doubt about that, but I think in the country at large there was no reverse Bradley effect. It was just people who were going to vote for Donald Trump no matter what—no matter what he said, no matter what he did and no matter how he behaved. They were determined to vote for Donald Trump, and they were ignored. They were ignored by pollsters. They were ignored by the media. They showed up yesterday in astounding numbers. A wave of people across the country. I think it rendered both political parties in this moment irrelevant,” explains Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the show’s panel discusses how Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump became the election victor despite pre-election polls clearly indicating Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would be the winner. Listen to more of the panel’s thoughts on Trump’s unexpected victory here.
“If you go out in the country to any state, you realize one thing very quickly by talking to people. The country isn’t fragile. We are not fragile. The institutions that have failed us are fragile and are not working, but the country is not fragile,” states Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle during a panel discussion about the sustainability of our American democracy and the viability of the country. Tune in to hear more the conversation between Barnicle and the show’s host Joe Scarborough.
“Let’s put the torture of this past 18 months of a [presidential] campaign behind us – the dissension, the name calling. This pageant of democracy that we witness today is not only truly extraordinary, but it makes you really proud to be an American citizen. This is an editorial comment: I really resent [Republican presidential candidate] Donald Trump saying that this is a waste of time if he loses. It’s an extraordinary honor to be one of these [presidential] candidates…To be able to go to the country and make your pitch as to why you ought to be president of the United States is an extraordinary honor. And it’s an even bigger honor to be allowed to vote for president of the United States,” says Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle as the show’s panel expresses its appreciation on Election Day for American democracy and voting rights. Listen to more of the discussion here. Only on MSNBC.
“Mike Barnicle’s piece is just beautiful, and (Vice President) Joe Biden – a wonderful man,” says historian Michael Beschloss in conversation about the Vice President and the column Barnicle wrote for The Daily Beast. Does Biden have regrets about deciding not to run for the presidency? Says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle: “All those ‘what-ifs’ are unanswerable. He chose not to run.” Hear more of the discussion about what regrets Biden might or might not have. Only on MSNBC.
