Mike Barnicle

“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.

Interviewed for Chronicle on WCVB Channel 5’s “JFK 100 Centennial Celebration” report, veteran columnist Mike Barnicle says: “The first Catholic president being elected, the assassination, Lyndon Johnson, the Great Society, our plunge into Vietnam. The sadness of history and the way we regard history today is that too many young people know more about Lady Gaga than they do John F. Kennedy.” Watch the whole segment here.

“Senator, when you go home to your state, eyesight alone will tell you – and tell anyone actually – that your state is afflicted with some problems: Rural poverty, drug addiction. When you look at the bill that came over from the House – the health care bill – and think about people in need of basic health services, basic human needs: Food stamps, things like that. Is your level of frustration with public life at its height right now? Has it ever been higher? How do you handle it?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) during a conversation about the House Republicans’ health care plan. Hear Manchin make his case for his state, and its citizens. “It is hurtful,” Manchin said of the Republican healthcare plan. “I’ve never see this kind of insensitivity.” Watch the exchange here.

In an interview with Congressman Jim Hines (D-CT), Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle asks that in light of the health care bill that passed the House without additional funds for cancer, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s research, “has it ever occurred to you perhaps to ask some of the people on the other side of the aisle who are in support of positions like this: ‘How were they raised’?” Hear Hines’ response here.

Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle asks Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) his position on the report that General Joseph Dunford and Secretary James Mattis will recommend to President Donald Trump that an additional 5,000 American troops be sent to Afghanistan. “You’re the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. Could you tell us what is the objective behind additional troops at this point in time? And what would your position be on the insertion of additional troops?” Hear Reed’s response here and why he believes the US counterterrorism position in Afghanistan is “critical.”

Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle speaks with The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt about a secret document that officials say played a key role in then-FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and has long been viewed within the FBI as unreliable. “Michael, pursuing the FBI angle in this and the FBI’s involvement in this, the timing of the document: It’s an email from Debbie Wasserman Schultz to someone who supposedly works for an organization funded by George Soros. Why did it take so long to conclude that it was a fake?” asks Barnicle. Hear Schmidt’s response here.

“Elise, your party, and Joe’s party – Republicans. What is the mindset of people drafting this bill that has now popped out of the House and is over in the Senate? Medical programs, drug abuse programs, opioid treatment programs have been severely cut. What are they thinking about there?” asks Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of MSNBC political analyst Elise Jordan during a conversation about the House Republicans’ proposed health care plan. Listen to Jordan’s response here on MSNBC.

“You can track all of the candidates’ prior statements about the media: ‘The media is against us. The media is against you, the people,’ and it leads inevitably to something like this. And it also leads inevitably to such a pathetic statement that the campaign released, which discounts the one thing that the media, the press is after – truth. It completely discounts the truth of what happened…Where is the assault charge? That’s what I want to know,” comments Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during the conversation about Montana Republican House candidate Greg Gianforte’s alleged “body-slam” of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs after questions about the Republican healthcare plan. Hear more of the discussion here about how President Donald Trump branding the media as “enemy of the people” has helped create an animosity toward the press.

“It’s an American flag tie,” proudly says Morning Joe’s veteran columnist Mike Barnicle as he responds to host Joe Scarborough’s teasing about about his shirt and tie combination at the top of today’s show. What do you think of the patriotic, colorful combo?

“Senator, what’s your sense of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle? How will they deal with this blatant hypocrisy coming from a Republican administration and a Republican president?” asks Morning Joe senior contributor Mike Barnicle of Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) during a conversation about President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal, which contradicts some of his own campaign promises. “The harm is real and the claim that it comes into balance is a scam,” said Van Hollen. Click to hear more of Van Hollen’s comments.