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MSNBC Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 27, 2017 20 Comments
Joe Scarborough spent the first half-hour of today's Morning Joe blasting White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon for the failure of the health care bill. Excerpts:
  • "I will call Steve Bannon a hack. When you go in and threaten members, you're not only a hack, you're stupid at your game . . . Bannon failed miserably. He is the biggest loser."
  • "The stupidity of Steve Bannon knows no ends."
  • "He's an idiot when it comes to how Washington works."
  • "He blew this."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 25, 2017 14 Comments
John Harwood is the CNBC journalist who advised Hillary's campaign on how to handle Ben Carson and later bragged to Hillary campaign chairman John Podesta about the rude questions he posed to Donald Trump during a debate. Harwood's attacks on Republican candidates as a moderator of a Republican primary debate were met with near universal mockery. Legal Insurrection's persistent exposure of Harwood eventually led Harwood to block Legal Insurrection on Twitter. Harwood resumed his routine on Joy Reid's MSNBC show this morning. Harwood claimed that Republicans are "radically opposed to government itself" and asserted that "governing is about taking action to solve people's problems."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 23, 2017 25 Comments
Did the Trump White House use the House intel committee chairman to divert attention from the committee's investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russians? That's what Joe Scarborough suggested on today's Morning Joe.  Scarborough said that his reporting suggests that the White House "shoved" committee chairman Devin Nunes in front of the cameras to reveal that communications of President Trump and associates may have been intercepted after the election by intelligence agencies conducting surveillance of foreign targets. Scarborough: "it just looked like, and sounded like from some reporting I did yesterday, that you had the White House desperate to do anything to change headlines this morning, because, again, from the reporting I did yesterday, talking to people in the White House, they were so desperate to change the narrative that it looks like they shoved him out with this information—just any information, anything—to change the headlines. And to blow up the investigation in the House. And it looks like that's exactly what they did."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 21, 2017 9 Comments
As the rest of the Morning Joe panel remained in three-alarm, apocalyptic mode this morning, there was one lonely voice bringing some balance to the discussion. MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin said it was "completely improper" of FBI Director James Comey to have revealed the existence of an ongoing investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Rejecting Mika Brzezinski's suggestion that Comey was "compelled" to make the revelation, Halperin added that Comey "says the standard is, if the public is interested in something, I'll reveal an ongoing probe. I've never heard of this standard. I think it's a dangerous one to set."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 17, 2017 15 Comments
Rachel Maddow's big SCOOP on Donald Trump's tax return turned into an embarrassing flop, with mockery coming at her from all directions, Rachel Maddow’s career committed suicide live on national TV tonight. Maddow did the unthinkable -- bringing together pro-Trump and anti-Trump together in horror at the horrendous clickbait. What was key was how Maddow herself build up the expectations with a pre-show tweet:

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 12, 2017 33 Comments
Looks like Rachel Maddow's feminist solidarity doesn't extend to Melania Trump . . . Appearing on Al Sharpton's MSNBC show this morning, did Maddow express outrage over a newspaper report on the possibility that Melania Trump had in the past worked as an "escort?" Not at all. To the contrary, Maddow described Melania's lawsuit against the newspaper involved as part of an "attack" and "assault" on the media. Maddow fretted that the media lacked the resources to "fight back."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 10, 2017 33 Comments
Last month, Mika Brzezinski in essence banned presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway from Morning Joe. Saying she doesn't believe in "fake news," Mika declared that Conway has tried to book herself on MJ, but "I won't do it." Brzezinski took things a big step further this morning, seeming to call for Conway to quit the Trump administration. In the context of discussing the criticism of the White House by the Office of Governmental Ethics for not disciplining Conway for her endorsement of Ivanka's clothing line, Mika said "it's probably time for [Conway] to pack it up."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 07, 2017 29 Comments
For David Ignatius, what is an acceptable number of terrorists and terrorist attacks in the United States? The question arises because on today's Morning Joe, Ignatius, of the Washington Post, was discussing the Trump admin statement that since 9/11, 300 people admitted from countries on the reissued executive order have been subject to "criminal, counter-terrorism investigations." Sniffed Ignatius: that's a "tiny number." Really? If those 300 had not been caught up in counter-terrorism investigations, how many would have carried out terrorist attacks? If only 1-in-20 had, that would be 15 terrorist attacks. Fifteen San Bernadinos, Pulses. Even one. Tiny?

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on March 03, 2017 25 Comments
Joe Scarborough and John Heilemann were leading an overheated charge against Jeff Sessions on today's Morning Joe, when a surprising note of caution came from an unexpected source: Kasie Hunt. Hunt is an MSNBC correspondent, not a commentator, nor someone suspected of harboring hidden conservative leanings. Yet Hunt issued a blunt assessment on Dem dealings over Sessions. Observing that there's danger for Dems if they overplay their hand, Hunt said: "I think one of the lessons we learned in the 2016 election is Americans are sick of faux outrage."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 23, 2017 14 Comments
Joe Scarborough went on an epic rant this morning against liberal academia and the way it shuts down and ultimately radicalizes conservative students who grow frustrated with being stifled in the classroom. The segment began as an effort to explain Stephen Miller's personality, as Morning Joe cited a column by Andrew Sullivan in which he speaks of conservative students who are often "mocked, isolated, and anathematized on campus" and often react by adopting "brattish and obnoxious positions just to tick off their SJW peers and teachers."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 21, 2017 16 Comments
Mike Barnicle, of all people, set the tone for the opening segment of today's Morning Joe, exclaiming "thank you, Jesus" in response to President Trump's pick of H.R. McMaster to take over from Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. The segment was one belated Valentines Day bouquet of praise for McMaster, coming from members of the panel itself as well as in quotes from a bi-partisan array that included several critics of the president, John McCain notably among them. Perhaps even more significant than the accolades for McMaster was the suggestion that his selection reflected well on President Trump himself.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 18, 2017 41 Comments
Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Hakeem Jeffries has called presidential assistant Steve Bannon a "stone-cold racist." Jeffries offered that description during an interview with Katy Tur on her MSNBC show yesterday in explaining why it would be "hard" for him to attend a meeting between President Trump and the CBC if Bannon were present.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 17, 2017 24 Comments
Has Mika Brzezinski been binge-watching House of Cards? The question arises because on today's Morning Joe, she offered up a Machiavellian theory which appeared to portray Mike Pence as scheming to take over the presidency. Joe Scarborough asked who within the White House will go to President Trump and tell him that he's undercutting his credibility. When Mark Halperin proposed VP Pence for that job, Mika Brzezinski replied: "it's not happening. He's waiting to be President." Was Mika implying that Pence has adopted a conscious strategy of letting President Trump implode so that he can assume the presidency when Trump is driven from office?

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 15, 2017 34 Comments
As far as Mika Brzezinski is concerned, Kellyanne Conway should not be permitted to appear on Morning Joe. Said Mika this morning: "Joe was just saying that she books herself on these shows, we know for a fact she tries to book herself on this show. I won't do it. Because I don't believe in fake news or information that is not true." Later, Mika laid down a personal marker, a virtual ultimatum. Warning Conway not to contact the show, Mika said: "I will say, Kellyanne Conway does not need to text our show. At least, as long as I'm on it. Because it's not happening here."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 13, 2017 39 Comments
If Morning Joe had a hook, they would have yanked presidential advisor Stephen Miller off the set of the Sunday shows he appeared on yesterday. Today's Morning Joe devoted a long segment to eviscerating his performance. The essence of the criticism was two-fold. First, that Miller spoke too much about his personal views rather than those of the president he serves. Second, that in declaring that the powers of the president to protect the country "will not be questioned" he was expressing an undemocratic view running counter to the principle of judicial review.
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