Mike Barnicle on TV: 2026

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/the-human-cost-of-war.html[/postlink][starttext]
“One thing hasn't changed throughout history—the distance between a theater of war and Washington DC. It involves much more than mileage. It involves being removed from the theater of war, removed from the daily toll that war takes on those fighting it,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation right before Memorial Day with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby about the hidden human and military costs of the prolonged U.S. deployments in the Middle East amid the war with Iran, warning that Americans in Washington often become detached from the real burdens of war while thousands of troops remain deployed abroad for months.

[endtext]

The Human Cost of War

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/china-and-intellectual-property-theft.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment with U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)—the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on competition with China—discussing U.S.-China trade tensions and arguing that China has unfairly hurt American workers through heavy industrial subsidies, cheap product dumping and labor abuses, hollowing out manufacturing communities across the Midwest and contributing to Donald Trump’s political rise. “Congressman, where would you put the Chinese theft of intellectual property on a list of things that we should address with China?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Khanna explain why China has “simply not played fair.”

[endtext]

China and Intellectual Property Theft

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/an-israeli-and-palestinian-choose-peace.html[/postlink][starttext]
“So, each of you carry your individual horror to what happens still every day over there. How did the two of you bridge that horror and become one?,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sarah, who joins Morning Joe alongside Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon to share their inspirational story of family loss and choosing reconciliation over revenge as the pair has closely worked together in calling for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hear Sarah share how “empathy” is the key to unity, highlighting it’s imperative “we realize that there is no other alternative.”

[endtext]

An Israeli and Palestinian Choose Peace

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/trumps-late-night-rants.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they weigh in on President Donald Trump’s temperament after POTUS unleashed a bizarre late-night posting spree on Truth Social that saw him amplify more than 50 posts from unverified accounts, sharing debunked conspiracy theories and AI-generated content targeting his political rivals, including former President Barack Obama. “If you used a split screen of Trump on one side talking, Barack Obama on the other side talking, Barack Obama sets people at ease, and they have an aspect of familiarity and affection for the guy, no matter whether they voted for him or not; and they want that in a presidency, not the anger, not the vile stuff that he tweets all night, overnight. I mean, it’s an easy choice for people,” says Barnicle. Catch the conversation here. "

[endtext]

Trump’s Late-Night Rants

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/a-nation-uneasy.html[/postlink][starttext]
“I have not recalled or witnessed a time in this country since the spring of 1968 where there seems to be a blanket of uncertainty and unease enveloping the entire country about where we are now and where we're going in the near future. I just have not seen it,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and The Dispatch senior writer David Drucker about the current sentiment about the economy from around the country after a new CNN poll found that 70 percent disapprove of how POTUS is handling the economy.

[endtext]

A Nation Uneasy

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/early-mlb-takeaways.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire, Mika Brzezinski, and Mike Barnicle as they talk baseball more than a month into the 2026 MLB season, including the Pittsburgh Pirates getting off to a solid start as the team currently holds a 22–19 record. “The Pirates play in one of the two or three best ballparks built in the last 10 or 15 years. They've got a bunch of young kids. There's some fruition now—finally—to their farm system. They have the best pitcher in Major League Baseball without a doubt—(Paul) Skenes. And it's good to see them coming back. I'd like to see more fans going into that ballpark, but Pittsburgh’s a sneaky good story,” says Barnicle about the Pirates and their home stadium, PNC Park. Catch the conversation here.

[endtext]

Early MLB Takeaways

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/doubt-in-us-leadership.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Admiral, you've had quite a career on the global stage. Looking at it now, looking backward, and from right now, today, the United States was viewed as predictable, dependable and reliable by many allies across the globe. Where do we stand on those categories today?" asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis during a Morning Joe conversation about the U.S. standing around the world during the Trump Administration’s second term. Hear Stavridis’s assessment on America now being a “reduced” nation on the global stage, explaining: “That sense of doubt in the United States—your point—is rising and it ought to concern us deeply."

[endtext]

Doubt in U.S. Leadership

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/the-trump-economy.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire, John Heilemann and Mike Barnicle as they weigh in on President Donald Trump’s standing after a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll revealed only 35 percent of Americans approve of POTUS’s handling of the economy. “There's nothing more glaring than to be putting gas in your car alongside someone you know across from you in another bay—a guy driving a pickup truck who works hard for a living and is putting gas in his pickup truck—and he's looking at those numbers roll up and he's furious about the cost of gas. And he has a Trump bumper sticker on the back of his pickup truck. The irony—the irony—of being deceived by people they voted for is really impactful,” says Barnicle about Trump supporters amid surging gas prices.

[endtext]

The Trump Economy

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/ice-crackdown-fallout.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Let's separate law enforcement—legitimate law enforcement, city police departments—from what we're talking about here and what we're seeing on your screen. It's basically a poorly trained paramilitary outfit. That's what it is. And the absurdity of DHS is just in their pronouncements that DHS does not target children. Look at these scenes. Look at how tear gas—no matter what you fire from a tear gas gun—envelops a whole neighborhood, drifts down a street. A kid could be going to school half a block or a block away from all of this tear gas, and he or she is going to inhale that,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire and ProPublica reporter Lisa Song about her independent news organization's investigation which revealed that ICE officers have escalated the use of the chemicals—tear gas and pepper spray—throughout recent immigration crackdowns under the Trump Administration, causing harm to at least 79 children across the country in the process.

[endtext]

ICE Crackdown Fallout

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/hope-and-uncertainty-in-america.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Dritan, when you pull the tabs internally on these polls, do you get any sense of the feeling of confidence that young Americans with young children starting up families that they have less confidence in the future than other people?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of HarrisX founder and CEO Dritan Nesho who joins Morning Joe to discuss polling data from the American Confidence Tracker, a new survey that picks up where Gallup's monthly presidential tracking poll left off. Hear Nesho breakdown that despite the fact that "Americans are very frustrated” with the current economic situation, “two-thirds still say that the American dream is attainable to them."

[endtext]

Hope and Uncertainty in America

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/too-much-too-disconnected.html[/postlink][starttext]
Mike Barnicle and Fab Five Freddy joined "The Beat with Ari Melber" for an edition of “Fallback,” during which they highlighted what they see as signs of a culture that’s gotten out of balance: the Met Gala’s display of wealth and celebrity excess, the normalization of a $9 Starbucks coffee, and the way smartphones have reduced eye contact, curiosity, and real-world connection. "America should never again confuse wealth with wisdom,” says Barnicle. Catch the conversation here.

[endtext]

Too Much, Too Disconnected

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/05/civil-rights-at-crossroads.html[/postlink][starttext]
"We've made enormous progress in race relations in this country, but the historical weight of discrimination based on color still is with us. It still burdens the United States of America, still prevents the United States of America from grasping the claim to being a truly great universally together nation…It’s been 61 years since Bull Connor and Selma, Alabama…this decision...opens the door, gives license to too many state legislatures to turn back the clock,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with National Action Network President the Rev. Al Sharpton about the Supreme Court having struck down Louisiana’s existing congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in a ruling that dealt another blow to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Hear Sharpton’s assessment that “you can turn back the clock, but you can’t turn back time” when it comes to civil rights, explaining that he is “confident that we can take this bad and hugely impactful decision and use it to energize.”

[endtext]

Civil Rights at a Crossroads

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/a-half-century-of-progress-at-risk.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in as Mike Barnicle joins Way Too Early with Ali Vitali to examine two major developments reshaping the political landscape: Florida lawmakers approving a new congressional map expected to boost Republican seats in the House ahead of the midterms, and the Supreme Court striking down Louisiana’s map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander—another setback for the Voting Rights Act. Reflecting on the ruling, Barnicle draws a stark historical parallel: “I remember 1964. I remember Bull Connor. I remember Selma, Alabama. I remember 1965—the Voting Rights Act passed, and it was a tremendously progressive measure, and it allowed a lot of people who could not vote because of the color of their skin to vote without threat of death or disturbance. And now all of these years, a half a century later, they're trying to roll back—the Supreme Court is trying to roll back—what happened in terms of progress from 1965. That's not what America is all about,” says Barnicle after the SCOTUS ruling that hollowed out a landmark civil rights-era law.

[endtext]

A Half-Century of Progress at Risk

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/lost-in-translation.html[/postlink][starttext]
"One of the interesting things about what's happened in the last decade or so, especially the last couple of years, is the language of politics. And as we play clips every day of public people from the president—both Democrats and Republicans, but specifically this administration, the language of politics—each and every day it seems it removes itself measurably from the lives of ordinary people. People who are sitting around a kitchen table in the morning getting their kids ready for school. They listen to some of these public people. We hear them—the clips that we play—and they've got to be thinking, ‘what does he mean?’ ‘What does she mean?’ ‘They don't understand how I'm living. They don't they don't understand the cost of cereal that I'm providing my kids.’ And Joe, they don't understand the fact that health care, health care policies; the gasoline prices rising, that's nothing compared to the cost of health care in this country. And if it's available—even if it's available, if they can get it—they're lucky,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough and Pablo Torre as they discuss the “massive affordability crisis” and its impact on everyday Americans as President Donald Trump has neglected the issue.

[endtext]

Lost in Translation

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/vance-proud-of-denying-aid-to-ukraine.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they discuss Vice President JD Vance at an event in Georgia having characterized the Trump Administration's decision to halt direct military aid to Ukraine as one it’s “proudest” successes. “If you talk to specific people in the Pentagon and the Defense Department, not the secretary of defense, certainly, but people who are annoyed by his behavior and what's happening with Ukraine via the Pentagon. If Ukraine had been given the munitions that they are owed because of what they're doing, Russia, the Russian troops would be back in Moscow today. That's how superior the Ukraine fighting forces are when faced against the Russians, and they're getting zero help now from us,” says Barnicle about the strength of the Ukrainian military amid its ongoing war with Russia.

[endtext]

Vance Proud of Denying Aid to Ukraine

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/dojs-jan-6-reversal.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Mike Barnicle and MS NOW justice and intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian about the Department of Justice having filed motions with a federal appeals court to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of 12 prominent January 6 defendants, which marks the Trump Administration’s latest effort to rewrite the history of the violent January 6 attack on the Capitol. “Ken, do we have a specific number or a range of numbers of the numbers of people—professionals—who have left the Department of Justice because of what's happening to the Department of Justice?” asks Barnicle. Hear Dilanian’s summation of the “thousands” of DOJ employees who have exited because they couldn’t “tolerate the working environment” under the Trump Administration.

[endtext]

DOJ's Jan. 6 Reversal

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/why-nato-still-matters.html[/postlink][starttext]
“We don't know our own history. The roots of NATO were born in the years after World War II. It's been the most effective alliance ever created in any country—an alliance between the United States and much of Europe. And Ambassador Stoltenberg, I was wondering if you could speak to the importance of that alliance, the roots of that alliance, and the dangers in ripping up those roots without any explanation from Washington, DC, other than, ‘oh, we…wanted Greenland, and they don't want us to have Greenland, so we're done.’ It's ridiculous,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this conversation with former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who joins Morning Joe to discuss the state of NATO as President Donald Trump has escalated threats to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, primarily citing European resistance to his ambition to acquire Greenland and a lack of support from European allies in the ongoing U.S. war against Iran. Hear Stoltenberg’s assessment on Europe’s efforts “to preserve NATO” amid the threats from POTUS, explaining “we are stronger together; we preserve peace when its time together.” "

[endtext]

Why NATO Still Matters

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/trumps-unilateral-style.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Ben, what are we to think as Americans when we hear the energy secretary…basically saying, it's wonderful that we have a president with the courage to allow gas prices to go up?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith during a Morning Joe conversation about U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright at the Semafor World Economy Summit having defended the Trump Administration's decision to engage in the ongoing conflict with Iran, despite it causing a spike in domestic gas prices. Hear Smith’s assessment of how President Donald Trump’s “unilateral” decision-making style has led to a situation where he “makes the decisions and everybody else scrambles to react,” according to Smith.

[endtext]

Trump’s “unilateral” style

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/blasphemous.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the backlash to a now-deleted AI-generated image shared by President Donald Trump. The image, which depicted POTUS in a Christ-like pose, drew criticism from Christian commentators who called it “blasphemous,” including some longtime allies. The president later said the image showed him as a doctor or Red Cross worker. “The word that has not been dropped here today…is stability. What is the president of the United States' sense of stability because we're talking about someone who has done some crazy things and likening himself to Christ in that post that he put up and then withdrew and claiming, ‘well, it's a doctor. I'm supposed to be a doctor in that.’ That's just so—it's beyond absurd. And we have a war going on that we don't know where it's going to end. And the word stability, I think, ought to be underlined each and every hour of the day in this presidency,” says Barnicle.

[endtext]

"Blasphemous"

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/europe-vs-america-economic-friction.html[/postlink][starttext]
“You've got a lot of European leaders, both economic and political there, and Europe, of course, is combined of a group of nations that were ill informed or uninformed about Donald Trump's plan to go to war with Iran, and there's contentiousness on both sides now. I’m wondering what your view is going to be in terms of trying to extract from them their anger over how the United States has behaved,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith who joins Morning Joe to talk about the upcoming Semafor World Economy 2026 forum in Washington, D.C. that will feature hundreds of top global leaders from business and government. Hear Smith’s assessment on the emotional “balance” European leaders are seeking amid the war with Iran, suggesting they are “infuriated by American government policy and obsessed with the U.S. economy.”

[endtext]

Europe vs. America: Economic Friction

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/trump-v-pope-leo-xiv.html[/postlink][starttext]
“When you're born Catholic, raised Catholic—especially by my mother, we used to call her ‘my mother, the nun'—the one thing you retain, I would think, is that the theory of the Catholic Church is rooted in a simple phrase—the least among us. So, if you look at the Trump Administration's behavior toward the least among us, it is almost criminal. It is certainly a sin because they don't care for the least among us, and we should all care for the least among us because when we care for them we care for ourselves,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist about an article in The Free Press that details the strained relationship between the Trump Administration and Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope.

[endtext]

Trump v. Pope Leo XIV

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/the-ripple-effects-of-war.html[/postlink][starttext]
"You just mentioned tectonic plates of the economy. When the tectonic plates move, when gas prices go up, things like that—that's not the only thing that happens. The residual effect, the shipping, the airline prices going up, everything going up. And it sometimes seems that the tectonic plates that move quickly, move very slowly in terms of prices coming back down. What happens then?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Financial Times columnist Gillian Tett who joins Morning Joe to discuss the economic impact the war in Iran could have on the world. Hear Tett’s assessment on why the “big level of disruption in the system in the last few weeks” caused by the war will cause shock waves, pointing out that “you can’t just magically switch the system back on again.”

[endtext]

The Ripple Effects of War

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/did-iran-win.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Did not Iran, though, just play rope a dope with the United States? They won. Iran won,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle to Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, during his Morning Joe panel conversation about the United States and Iran having agreed to a two-week provisional ceasefire, which came less than two hours before a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face "total destruction." Hear Haass’s assessment about how Iran is “stronger” now since the start of the war, explaining “we hurt them in the classic sense but in the strategic sense they are much better off.”

[endtext]

Did Iran win

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/young-faith-rising.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Palm Sunday….My wife and I went to the 5 o'clock mass at Saint Ignatius in Boston. It's on the Boston College campus, so you'd expect a few college students at 5 o'clock mass. It was packed, standing room only. People outside the church. The demographic, I thought in my mind's eye, would look 25ish to 30ish—youngish. Most of them reciting the prayers by knowledge, just by rote. They knew the prayers. It was stunning to me, absolutely stunning. And I give credit to a couple of things: One, the times we're living in, and Pope Leo,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire, Mika Brzezinski, and Donny Deutsch as they weigh in on the Catholic Church seeing an increase in attendance during this “dark time” in America, particularly with younger men in America. "There's a phrase that was used repeatedly on Palm Sunday that I think has struck a chord among younger people as well as people my age or your age—'the least among us,'” Barnicle says of the phrase drawn from Gospel of Matthew 25:40, referring to the marginalized, vulnerable, and overlooked in society, emphasizing a call to compassion by teaching that serving them is equivalent to serving Christ.

[endtext]

Young Faith Rising

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/04/iran-crisis-deepens.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire, Katty Kay, Donny Deutsch, MS NOW National Security Analyst John Kirby, and Mike Barnicle as they discuss President Donald Trump now threatening to launch massive military strikes against Iran's civilian infrastructure if the country does not agree to a deal and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the 39th day of the war. “This is a country of 93 million people, and everyone who has ever had any experience dealing with the Iranian people will tell you they are more culturally inclined to the West than any other groups of people in that region. And so what you're going to do by wiping out, by making the country go dark, by taking out their water supplies, all sorts of things, all sorts of damage to the civilian population—you're going to risk malnutrition, you're going to risk a refugee crisis coming out of out of Iran. You've got to think that the military, more than anyone else, is thinking about these things, much more so than the political leadership of this country,” says Barnicle amid the stark threats from POTUS toward Iran.

[endtext]

Iran Crisis Deepens

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/trumps-cuba-shift-raises-bigger.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire, The New York Times Opinion writer Mara Gay, and Mike Barnicle as they discuss news of President Donald Trump reversing course on his administration’s effective oil blockade of Cuba, allowing a Russian-flagged tanker to deliver a shipment of crude oil to the island. "The elastic concept of the presidency, building his own universe, saying whatever he wants, whenever he wants, is extraordinary.…Why are so many people so afraid of him?” asks Barnicle as the trio discuss the deeply unpredictable nature of POTUS.

[endtext]

Trump’s Cuba Shift Raises Bigger Questions

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/mayor-zohran-mamdanis-secret-to-success.html[/postlink][starttext]
“The people around the mayor and the mayor himself—he's young, he's energetic, he's full of energy, full of ideas and everything like that. What are his prospects if he runs afoul with the New York Police Department?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of The New York Times Opinion writer Mara Gay who joins Morning Joe to discuss the generational change in New York City politics under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Hear Gay’s assessment of the Mayor’s “secret to success,” the work ethic of the Mayor and his team, and the “open question” surrounding his relationship with the NYPD.

[endtext]

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “secret to success"

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/us-foreign-service-at-its-weakest-point.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Mr. Ambassador, your career has taken you from Beijing to Brussels—all over the world. You’ve had a career and a life lived as a diplomat. And I’m wondering if you could expand on your thoughts—that you just started to talk about—the fact that we have a president of the United States and his diplomats, secretary of state, who have created an alternate universe in terms of diplomacy and global diplomacy. What impact, what lasting impact and lasting danger, do you think they have posed to the history of the United States diplomatic efforts around the world?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns during a Morning Joe conversation about America’s global diplomatic relations as the war with Iran enters its 32nd day. Hear Burns’ assessment of how the U.S. Foreign Service is at its “weakest point” in its 102-year history with the career state department being “ignored."

[endtext]

U.S. Foreign Service at its “weakest point"

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/baseball-season.html[/postlink][starttext]
“If you take a look at the stats of a lot of hall of famers and you take two guys who are not in the Hall of Fame, Dale Murphy being one, Dwight Evans of the Boston Red Sox being the other—both absolutely belong in the Hall of Fame. There's no doubt about it,” says Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire as they talk some baseball, including Baseball Hall of Fame snubs. Join the conversation here.

[endtext]

Baseball season

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/silence-is-killing-our-democracy.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) about the SAVE America Act and President Donald Trump’s recent social media post saying he was “glad” to hear the news that former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III had died. "I’m wondering if any Republican senators you spoke with: Did they say anything to you or were they ashamed of it? Were they shocked by it, or did they say nothing about it?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Booker. Hear Booker’s response about the “crisis of conviction” we find ourselves in. The silence right now—it is killing our democracy,” Booker said. See the conversation here.

[endtext]

Silence is killing our democracy

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/save-america-act-showdown.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Norm, let's have an explainer for people watching: If you came here to this country, say in 1980 from Cambodia and you moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, where your family started a business that thrives and you have a Massachusetts driver's license today, but they demand a birth certificate to back up any credibility that you have citizenship here. What do you have to do? Go back to Phnom Penh to try to get a birth certificate? What do you do?" asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Matthew Harris Ornstein Debate Institute co-founder Norm Ornstein who joins Morning Joe to discuss the Save America Act, which would complicate voting in America as it would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections if passed. Listen to Ornstein’s response here.

[endtext]

Save America Act Showdown

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/dubai-under-attack.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation Jonathan Lemire, Mike Barnicle and MS NOW reporter Josh Einiger who joins the program from Dubai to discuss the attacks on the United Arab Emirates’ by its Iranian neighbor that has caused the country to briefly close its airspace as Israel launched new strikes in war in the Middle East. “What's happening to people on the streets of Dubai?” asks Barnicle. Watch the discussion here.

[endtext]

Dubai under attack

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/iran-attacks-ships-in-strait-of-hormuz.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Let's put on your admiral's hat and talk about the war from that point of view. The Iranians are playing a home game in the Straits of Hormuz, and they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. What does that mean for the conclusion of this war, the fact that they can do whatever they want, when they want, in that strip of narrow waterway?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) John Kirby during a Morning Joe conversation regarding the Strait of Hormuz being effectively closed to most commercial traffic following a series of Iranian attacks on merchant vessels during an escalating conflict with the U.S. and Israel. Listen to Kirby’s response here on MSN NOW.

[endtext]

Iran attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/rubio-v-vance-for-2028.html[/postlink][starttext]
"In any business, it's a big jump from Triple-A to the Major Leagues, especially in politics. And the back and forth between these two potential presidential candidates, Marco Rubio and the incumbent vice president of the United States, it's striking to see both of them on TV next to each other. One looks like a trainee, the vice president, and the other, the secretary of state, looks like a legitimate major leaguer,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough and POLITICO Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin about Secretary of State Marco Rubio being increasingly viewed as a top-tier rival to Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 GOP nomination. You can hear more from Martin on his new podcast series, "On the Road with Jonathan Martin.”

[endtext]

Rubio v. Vance for 2028?

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/iran-war-fallout-gas-and-groceries.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the fallout in the country from the U.S.-Iran war as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are delivering conflicting messages regarding the duration and objectives of the 11-day-old military conflict. “Let's clear this up with basically getting down to the basics. In the country at large, I would submit that the issue is not necessarily the war. The issue now is gas and groceries—that's on everyone's mind. And the other issue, the one that you just raised, Gerry Baker, talks about it in a great column in the Wall Street Journal. His language, his appearances, doing a weave, describing war, describing combat, international combat, involving multiple countries, in the most aflame region in the world, the Middle East. Gerry Baker writes, ‘the failure to articulate a persuasive and inspiring case not only weakens support at home, our diplomatic efforts overseas, and our war fighting capabilities. The unseemly representation of necessary lethal battle as some sort of video game corrupts our national culture. We can't be expected to raise our eyes to the shining beacon of our noble ideals if we can't see through the acrid smoke of our leaders in temperate, incontinent, infantilizing verbiage.’ And he's talking about the president of the United States and the Secretary of Defense,” says Barnicle as he reads from Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerard Baker’s latest article titled, “In a War of Words, Trump Always Defeats Himself.” Watch the segment here.

[endtext]

Iran War fallout: 'Gas and groceries'

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/the-window-of-war.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Ed, in speaking of danger—danger politically or whatever level you're talking about—have you heard any repercussions about the fact that it seems that Bibi Netanyahu took Donald Trump by the hand and walked him right up to the window of war?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Financial Times U.S. national editor Ed Luce who joins Morning Joe to discuss a new article about the United States and Israel being engaged in a major military conflict with Iran, following President Donald Trump explicitly denying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forced his hand. Listen to Luce’s response here.

[endtext]

The window of war

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/economic-impact-of-war-with-iran.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Steve, Wall Street clearly does not like unpredictability or uncertainty. No one does. But on the global stage, there's no way of telling how long we will be actively involved on a daily basis in a war in Iran. What happens if this war lengthens out in terms of the United States' presence and participation in that war? What happens to those charts behind you right now?" asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of economic analyst Steve Rattner who joins Morning Joe to discuss the economic impact of the U.S. conflict with Iran. Listen to Rattner’s response here about the impact so far and the potential for oil prices, inflation, interest rates and the stock market.

[endtext]

Economic impact of the war with Iran

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/war-on-iran-no-clear-end-game.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Jake, does it bother you that so far in all of the explanations that the president has given in various phone calls to members of the media and off-the-cuff remarks at Medal of Honor ceremonies about the war, that there are three key questions that the military wonders about when it comes to fighting a war: When is the war going to start? Where are we going to fight it? And the big question that hasn't been answered by the president of the United States to the people of this country: Why are we there? Why? What is the objective? Does that bother you that there's been no outline of an objective here?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of former national security advisor Jake Sullivan who joins Morning Joe to discuss the Trump Administration’s mixed messaging on the country’s current war with Iran. Watch Sullivan’s response here.

[endtext]

War on Iran: “No clear end game"

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/trump-v-law-firms.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle and New York Times investigative reporter Michael Schmidt about the details and fallout following multiple prestigious law firms having reached high-stakes settlements with the Trump Administration to rescind or preemptively avoid punitive executive orders. “Some of these law firms are global law firms, some of the most powerful law firms in the world…(and) they folded to the president of the United States….Any sense of the stain—the eternal stain—that's left on these firms?” asks Barnicle. Hear Schmidt’s assessment on MS NOW.

[endtext]

Trump v. law firms

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/03/noem-testifies-about-ice.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Senator Durbin, today Secretary Noem, Kristi Noem, is scheduled to appear before the Judiciary Committee. I'm wondering if you can ascertain or try and find out from her exactly how much money was spent to individual, potential recruits to ICE—$50,000 dollars, I’m told, was offered as bonuses to many of them. How much money in total was spent? What their training was? And why no one has cooperated with the Minneapolis Police Department in a homicide case?, asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) during a Morning Joe conversation about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which marks Noem’s first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Hear what Durbin has to say on MS NOW.

[endtext]

Noem testifies about ICE

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/was-jeffrey-epstein-spy.html[/postlink][starttext]
MS NOW senior national security reporter David Rohde joined Morning Joe to discuss his latest piece “Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy? The world keeps asking,” which reports that despite growing political speculation, there is no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was a spy for any foreign nation, though some officials debate whether foreign intelligence agencies may have targeted him because of his elite connections. "David, you mentioned when you were listing the potential secret operations of other countries looking at his emails—trying to look at his emails—you mentioned the Russians and the Chinese; but, isn’t it also possible that he could have been a clear target for some sophisticated countries like Israel, who are always looking for information about America and what’s happening in America? And this guy had treasure trove of information—confidential information—with some pretty high rolling people?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Rohde’s answer here.

[endtext]

Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy?

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/remembering-rev-jesse-jackson.html[/postlink][starttext]
"There’s a phrase that is used in history to describe certain examples of leadership: it’s called pathfinder. And in the 1984 campaign, I would submit Jesse Jackson was a pathfinder. He was so electric as a candidate that he changed politics, not only Democratic politics, but politics in this country,” said veteran columnist and MS NOW contributor Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Rev. Al Sharpton, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist as they remember the life and legacy of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has died at 84 years old. In Jackson’s historic bid for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination, he became the first African American candidate to win a major party state primary or caucus.

[endtext]

Remembering Rev. Jesse Jackson

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/new-report-on-antisemitism.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment with Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they talk with American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch who unveiled the AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2025 report, which reveals, among other facts, that 73 percent of American Jews have experienced antisemitism online. “…There’s a real sense of more anger out there and frustration in people’s lives. How does that add to it, do you think?” asks Barnicle. Hear what Deutch has to say about the contributing factors fueling antisemitism today and some of the possible solutions.

[endtext]

New report on Antisemitism

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/empathy-absent-trust-eroded.html[/postlink][starttext]
“It was depressing to watch that, actually, the entire hearing,” said MS NOW contributor Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire and Joe Scarborough and as they weigh in on “the lack of empathy” from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who faces intense criticism for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files at a high-tension House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing where she also refused to personally acknowledge survivors in attendance. "It was also another building block in people's lack of confidence—the feeling that they have lack of confidence that the government operates for us, for ordinary people. Watching it and because of my age, my experiences, I started thinking about the Army-McCarthy hearings and Joseph Welch ‘have you no sense of decency, sir?,’ the Fulbright hearings on Vietnam, the Watergate hearings that resulted in Richard Nixon leaving the presidency, resigning from the presidency. All of these things, I think people felt, ‘well, they're doing something for us. They’re explaining things for us, for the people.’.…This hearing, yesterday, I think the only thing it did was cement the average person's accurate feeling that justice is a two-tiered system now in the United States of America. It protects the wealthy, protects the powerful like Epstein and his friends, Epstein and company. And the average person does not get the same treatment in the justice system in America now,” says Barnicle about the American judicial system.

[endtext]

Empathy Absent, Trust Eroded

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/ice-under-fire.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation between MS NOW contributor and veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) about the ongoing, controversial ICE operations under President Donald Trump, after Liam Conejo Ramos—a 5-year-old boy “detained" by ICE in Minneapolis—was finally released. "Liam and the other children in that facility with him have in effect been kidnapped,” says Barnicle. "You are a member of the United States Senate, 100 strong, the House of Representatives, 435 strong. Are you telling us, the nation, that there is nothing you can do about this—nothing?” Hear Murphy’s response” “We are not powerless,” he says in describing what methods lawmakers have to stop the “murder” of American citizens and the tear-gassing of schools.

[endtext]

ICE under fire

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/trump-refuses-to-apologize-for-racist.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in on this Morning Joe conversation with Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they discuss President Donald Trump continuing to insist he "didn't make a mistake" and refusing to apologize for his Truth Social video post that included racist imagery of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, which has received bipartisan backlash. “When you realize what it was and people see it, and you understand the president's reaction to it—that he's not going to apologize, that he's not going to admit a mistake—he defines himself even further as to who he is: Are we really surprised?” says Barnicle.

[endtext]

Trump refuses to apologize for racist post

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/epstein-file-continued-fallout.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Peter Baker, you've been covering Washington, D.C. for quite some time. So on this particular never-ending story, the Epstein files, do you get the sense that it's the intent, the plan, the plot of the Trump Administration to just run out the clock on this—by redacting so many names, keep sending up papers that are meaningless, really, with no proof, no real hard evidence that you can talk about publicly—just run out the clock on it?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker as the Morning Joe panel discusses President Donald Trump's rollout of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which has been marked by accusations of cover-up, noncompliance, heavy redactions, and political deflection. Listen to Baker’s response here.

[endtext]

Epstein file continued fallout

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/trump-attacks-olympic-skier-for-his.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire, Eugene Robinson and Mike Barnicle as they weigh in on President Donald Trump having called U.S. Olympic skier Hunter Hess a "real loser” after the athlete exercised his First Amendment rights by expressing "mixed emotions" about representing the United States in the current political climate. “The most American thing you can do is say: I love America. I'm a member of the United States of America. I'm a citizen. My family has grown up here. I love this country. I just wish that we would stop putting five-year-olds in refugee camps and taking them out of their homes and off the streets of the cities that they live in. There’s nothing more American than that,” says Barnicle.

[endtext]

Trump attacks olympic skier for his opinions

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/great-journalism-is-not-dead.html[/postlink][starttext]
“One of the problems in this country, I would submit, is the lack—the death—of so many local newspapers where people would get their news about what's happening in their state or their small town or their city that they live in,” said veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski about the state of journalism today and how major outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, are providing hope because they’re thriving under strong leadership and proving that high-quality journalism can still succeed if done right. “There are a few papers still doing the job….My old paper, The Boston Globe, is doing very well. It's doing very well under the ownership of John W. Henry. His wife, Linda, helps run the paper. She does run the paper...and it's a dominant newspaper and it can happen. The death of the small papers in this country are part of the slow diminution of people's appreciation of government, of democracy, and we need more healthy newspapers."

[endtext]

Great journalism is not dead

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/02/free-and-fair-elections.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment as veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie address Donald Trump’s call to “nationalize” U.S. elections—with Christie positing that the Founders deliberately placed elections in the hands of the states to protect accountability and public trust, and that state-run elections help keep power closer to the people who actually vote. “I think most people think our elections are free and fair…but having one entity, the federal government, running an election, a national election, as opposed to 50 states running their elections—boy, you can see something easily done by putting your finger on the ballot, literally from the national level, and taking care of it, rigging it one time, rather than 50 states doing it in charge,” says Barnicle.

[endtext]

Free and fair elections

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/2020-election-investigation-continues.html[/postlink][starttext]
Tune in for this Morning Joe segment as veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and former Atlanta Mayor and 2026 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms discuss the FBI having executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center in Georgia as it probes alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election.

[endtext]

2020 Election Investigation Continues

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/its-our-america.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Some of us feel nostalgic about a country called America that we grew up in, that our parents gave to us….The country doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. It belongs to everyone in America. It belongs to my children and my grandchildren. And I’m fearful for them….There’s something wrong out there in this country,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle in this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire and Willie Geist as they weigh in on the ‘chaos’ in the country being exacerbated by the situation in Minneapolis, where the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents have ignited protests, political backlash, and intense scrutiny of ICE’s tactics.

[endtext]

It’s OUR America

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/ice-blankets-maine.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle as they react to MS NOW reporter Josh Einiger's coverage of the fear and intimidation that’s blanketing Maine as ICE starting to make arrests in the coastal state. “They're also doing something that is forbidden by nearly every major police department in the country, in that they go to places like Auburn, Maine, or Lewiston, Maine, and they will stop people based on skin color alone. That's it. You have an accent, you have brown skin, everything like that—‘pull them over.’ It's outrageous, and it's daily, (and on an) hourly basis that they're doing it,” says Barnicle about the arrests being conducted by ICE under the Trump Administration’s “Operation Catch of the Day."

[endtext]

ICE blankets Maine

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/ice-training-in-question.html[/postlink][starttext]
“Senator Schumer...There’s been a lot of Democrats who have stood on the floor of the Senate and outside the Senate complaining about and pointing out the inequity, the outrages that are taking place in the streets of Minneapolis today. Why haven't you gotten like a dozen Democratic senators and maybe a dozen New York City cops flown to Minneapolis, stood there in the crowds and said to the guys wearing masks, ‘we've brought people who know how to operate, we’ve brought people who know what law and order really means, and you are wrong, and they are right, and that's why we're here?’” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a Morning Joe conversation regarding tensions in Minnesota reaching a breaking point following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as daily clashes between protestors and federal agents—who have come under criticism for their inadequate and brief training in many cases—have intensified across Minneapolis. Hear what Schumer has to say here.

[endtext]

ICE training in question

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/the-new-old-age.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Wouldn't one of the big things be with people retiring at the age of 64, 65 and lifespans continuing to increase, 79, 80 years of age being average, sometimes, what happens to health care costs for those people, 62, 65 retiring, who walk around looking for part time jobs, looking for something to do, not finding anything to do, loneliness becomes a factor, their physical health might become a factor. What do we do about that?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of TIME senior health correspondent Alice Park who joins Morning Joe to discuss her new article "The New Old Age," which explores how the traditional American life arc—school, work, family, and retirement in one's 60s—is becoming a relic as life expectancy and health spans increase around the globe. Watch the conversation here.

[endtext]

"The New Old Age"

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/ices-controversial-techniques.html[/postlink][starttext]
“During the course of putting the piece together, assembling the reportage on the piece, did you run into at all the idea that there seems to be a very short training period for ICE agents, and their backgrounds might not be all law enforcement prior to getting to be a member of the ICE brigade that goes to places like Minneapolis, and that could result in them using force that is truly banned by most large police departments in the country?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of ProPublica reporter Nicole Foy who joins Morning Joe to discuss her reporting that found over 40 cases of ICE agents using chokeholds and other moves that can cut off blood flow to the brain or airflow—controversial techniques banned by a significant number of police departments across the country.

[endtext]

ICE’s controversial techniques

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/20-years-of-news.html[/postlink][starttext]
“You two boys changed the way news is delivered and devoured over the past 20 years, and my question to you is: Given the attention span of today's news based customers, you've fed that as well, quite well, but how do you maintain—and you have maintained thus far—the credibility that comes with delivering news?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen who join Morning Joe to discuss their new editorial piece “Behind the Curtain: 20 years of Media Revolution,” which reflects on two decades of media transformation—starting from their departure from legacy news institutions forward to the current fractured landscape. Watch their conversation here.

[endtext]

20 years of news

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/how-to-get-answers.html[/postlink][starttext]
"Adam, so much of your work is filled with insight. I want to ask you one question about one of the themes in your book: 'Ask for advice, not feedback.' How do you do that in a culture where everybody looks at their iPhones thinking that's going to give them the answer to every question they ask? How to lose weight, which direction to take to get to Chicago, stuff like that. How do you do it?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of organizational psychologist Adam Grant who joins Morning Joe to discuss his book “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things,” which challenges conventional wisdom about talent and explores how anyone can achieve greatness through character development, making mistakes and effective learning strategies. Watch the conversation here.

[endtext]

How to get answers

[postlink]http://www.mikebarnicle.tv/2026/01/january-6th-history-rewritten.html[/postlink][starttext]
Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) about the White House's new website with a rewrite of the historical record of January 6, 2021, hailing the pro-Trump mob who stormed the U.S. Capitol five years ago as “peaceful protesters” who were provoked by law enforcement and the missing plaque that is by law required to be on display at the Capitol to honor the police who defended democracy that day five years ago.

[endtext]

On TV

About Mike Barnicle

Mike Barnicle On The Web

Recent Videos

Categories

Archives

Mike Barnicle on Twitter