Mike Barnicle on TV

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Tune in to this Morning Joe conversation as former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel shares what he learned during a recent visit to Louisiana, where he toured schools to examine the state's nationally recognized gains in student achievement. “One thing that is not mentioned a whole lot in any of the campaigns—that you sort of half listened to—is a very important issue to many people: Their children and their education,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Emanuel explain how consistency in teacher training, curriculum and accountability has contributed to Louisiana's educational progress—and why he “kicked myself in the butt for not having done this in Chicago.”

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Rahm Emanuel: I kicked myself in the butt

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“Reading the book, it struck me it's not a Hollywood memoir. You know, it's a story about several different lives, yours principally, and all of the things that you went through with your father, the relationship with your father, the difficulties with your son, and straightening that out to a certain point; and your cancer, where you thought you were going to die. In writing this book, was there an element of ‘I'm free now, I'm free to do this?’” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas, who joined Morning Joe to discuss his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride.” Hear Douglas talk about that freedom he was afforded.

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Michael Douglas breaks free

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation as Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire, John Heilemann and Mike Barnicle break down the latest MLB postseason action—from the San Diego Padres staving off elimination against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers taking control of their series against the Atlanta Braves to the New York Yankees' uphill battle against the Tampa Bay Rays to keep their season alive. “I think Tampa Bay comes out of the American League as the American League champions, and it's Brewers versus Tampa Bay,” says Barnicle as he predicts the 2026 World Series matchup. What’s your prediction?

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Postseason Predictions

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation with TIME senior political correspondent Eric Cortellessa who joins the panel to discuss his wide-ranging, 75-minute interview with President Donald Trump at the White House. “Eric, did he speak at all about the issue of this ongoing war with Iran and the negotiators—Witkoff and Kushner—and the fact that nothing seems to ever get done here?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Cortellessa breakdown Trump's comment that there isn't “any rush” to end the war with Iran.

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Trump: No Rush on Iran

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Join the Morning Joe panel conversation about a new AP-NORC poll showing that just 17 percent of Americans approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the cost of living and only 26 percent approve of his handling of the economy overall, with the midterm elections one month away. “The big driver in this election is anger—anger at what's going on around them, anger because they know what's going on around them. Gas and groceries are their existence and every time you see the president of the United States, more often than not, he's surrounded by billionaires. That's his crowd. That’s where he goes," says Mike Barnicle.

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It’s the economy, stupid

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“We live in a country now where there are millions of people…who are afraid to leave their homes, people who are afraid to send their children to public schools, people who have left hospital jobs, restaurant jobs, all kinds of jobs, all kinds of employment that have made them thrive here in this country since they arrived within the last 5 or 10 years, because of the fear of what—the federal government of the United States of America pursuing them as if they are convicted criminals already….They came here because of one word: freedom—linked to another word, America. That's being slowly destroyed,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist as they discuss Republican Sen. Jim Justice urging the Trump administration to reconsider parts of its immigration enforcement strategy and the impact immigration enforcement is having on communities and businesses.

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What kind of country do you want to live in?

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation with House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) discussing the need for immediate congressional oversight of artificial intelligence to balance the opportunities, risks, and urgent questions surrounding the rapidly evolving technology. “If the Democrats win the House and you become speaker next January, what are the possibilities that you will hold hearings on artificial intelligence, both its promise and its peril? Because people just simply don't know about the peril aspect of it, even though people have said, you know, ‘going to end civilization by the end of the month,’ but nobody really knows. When are those questions going to be asked?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Jeffries explain why lawmakers should address AI safety concerns now.

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AI: the promise and the perils

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“I think people started putting away pennies last May for their home heating bills this fall and this winter. It's going to be horrific, horrific. There’s going to be a lot of cold homes,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist as they react to House Speaker Mike Johnson's defense of the Trump administration's economic and energy agendas and discuss the rising fuel and home heating costs facing Americans with fall just beginning.

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Bracing for cold temperatures

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“This is a man who clearly values his friendship and his closeness to Vladimir Putin more than he regards having a convivial or collaborative relationship with—the aforementioned Mark Carney—our Canadian neighbor. This is a man who has exhausted this country. He has certainly exhausted me; he's exhausted all of us. All we do every single day is look at the absurd things that he does each and every day of his presidency. And there is no way right now, I would submit, that anyone can measure the damage that he has done to the United States of America, nor can we predict how long it's going to take to repair that damage—if it can be repaired,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire about President Donald Trump bragging about his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the state of U.S. relationships with longtime allies under Trump, and the GOP’s unwillingness to reprimand POTUS.

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America exhausted by Trump

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Tune in to this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, John Heilemann, former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Mike Barnicle as they unpack new polling on President Donald Trump and shifting political coalitions ahead of the midterm elections. Hear Heilemann discuss why he sees “so much bad news in this poll for regular Republicans who finally seem to be really done with Trump,” and Emanuel explain why he believes the biggest story of 2026 is the “breakup of the Republican Party.”

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The breakup of the GOP

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"My thoughts right now are about all the phone calls that were placed by people who never made it out of the buildings or never made it off of the airplanes that were flying in the sky. All the last phone calls to their children, to their wives that ended with the phrase ‘I love you,’” says Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle on this 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

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9/11: Final words

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks as Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Mike Barnicle reflect on the courage and sacrifice shown on 9/11, the unity that followed, and why those stories should be passed on to future generations. “We ought to be telling the stories of those lost and the survivors, their survivors….We have to tell their stories. Everybody loves to hear a story. This is a tragic story, but...part of it is a wonderful story. The children who are succeeding in this country. This country that was attacked that day. Forget about what happened that day in terms of, you know, who the enemies are; we have enough enemies in this life of ours. We should concentrate on the heroes who died and their surviving children and grandparents,” says Barnicle.

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9/11: Keeping the stories alive

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Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with International Association of Fire Fighters General President Edward Kelly reflecting on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the sacrifice of the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives, and the values that define being a firefighter. “I want to ask you about the core of being a firefighter. There's an old expression that when the cops come down the street, someone's in trouble. When a fire department comes down the street, help is on the way. What is it...that makes firefighters different?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Kelly explain why sacrifice and “putting others before self” is the cornerstone of being a firefighter.

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9/11: What Defines Firefighters

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Democratic Kansas Senate nominee and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton discussing the impact of Affordable Care Act subsidy rollbacks, Medicare cuts, and why he says many Kansans are being forced to make tough decisions or go without health care insurance. “Adam, you mentioned the rollback in subsidies to the Affordable Care Act that the incumbent supported and the level of Medicare cuts that have been made by the One Big, Beautiful Bill. I'm wondering how that level of cruelty, inflicted cruelty—legislatively inflicted cruelty—is working out for so many Kansas people who are losing health care, losing benefits,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle. Hear Hamilton explain that one Kansas woman shared with him that because of the change she had to choose between her house payment and her insurance payment and chose her house because she couldn’t afford both.

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Tough choices: health care or housing

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“This campaign comes down to a uniquely friendly atmosphere for Democrats. It's basically based on how people live today in America. People live from day to day in America. People are upset….I was thinking about the home heating oil cost as we were talking about costs—those are going to be through the roof in the northeast and for people living in cold weather states. It's going to be incredible to be able to afford to heat your house this winter. Gas and groceries: that's what it always comes down to. And gas and groceries are bothering a lot of people a lot of the time, all day long,” says veteran journalist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Lemire and Donny Deutsch as they discuss rising energy prices, affordability concerns, and how economic issues are shaping this year's midterm elections.

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Midterm headline: Gas and groceries

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"The origin of the story is a country in distant Africa….The culmination story is in the United States of America by a young man….He represents America. That's what America is all about. The tragedy of the Trump administration—both administrations—is they have spent now a decade together—four years out of office, but a decade—running this country down. They pose as great patriots. They pose as, ‘we're going to make America strong again, we're going to bring back America.’ Nobody has to bring back America. The United States of America is the greatest goddamn country on the Earth. People don't travel. They don't realize it—but it is. It’s the greatest country in the world,” says veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Donny Deutsch about U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe—whose parents came to America from Sierra Leone—and what it represents about America amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

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Frances Tiafoe: the toast of NYC

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"How much time does the country have to be this country? What is happening to this country? We have a 40 trillion dollar debt, 40 trillion dollars. We have worries about what's going to happen on election day in this country. Are there going to be troops sent to election places, sent to polling places? Is the election going to be bagged by this administration? We have allies—we have had allies since the end of World War II—that are all pissed off at us throughout the world. And we're talking about, you know, ridiculous things with this guy: ‘Lake America.’ I mean, what has happened to America? Can we save it? Can we reclaim it? Can we rebuild it?....There's so much anger in this country that it has to be tapped one way or another; but the anger is out there because people realize that the country is being stolen from them,” says Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle during this conversation with Jonathan Lemire, Jennifer Palmieri, Peter Alexander and Katty Kay about growing economic concerns ahead of the midterm elections, the political challenges facing President Donald Trump, and broader questions about the direction of the country before November.

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Can America be Saved?

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“Watching these pictures of an event that occurred in 1963, it caused me to think about the country that existed in 1963: three months after the March on Washington, President Kennedy was killed. Less than two years after the March on Washington, the first element of the 9th Marines landed at a place called Da Nang in South Vietnam. And we know the roller coaster after that, what happened to this country. And I'm wondering, from your perspective, do you think it was easier to unify this country…then than it is today?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of the Rev. Al Sharpton during this Morning Joe conversation on the anniversary of the March on Washington 63 years ago.

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Are We Marching Backward?

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“Is there anyone around the president of the United States who would step into the Oval Office and say, ‘Mr. President, Russia is not our friend, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not our friend, we've got to rethink a couple of elements of the relationship we have…with the Russians?,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle during this Morning Joe conversation with Jonathan Lemire and Willie Geist about CIA Director John Ratcliffe's rare trip to Moscow, concerns that Russia could test NATO by targeting one of its Baltic allies, and whether the Trump administration is doing enough to deter further Russian aggression.

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Trump’s Putin Problem

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Watch this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire, Jon Meacham and Mike Barnicle discussing President Donald Trump’s plan to spend heavily on midterm ads touting his record, even as new polling shows him underwater with voters on several major issues—and what that disconnect could mean for Republicans heading into the midterms. “You also have an administration that almost on a daily basis goes out of its way to remove programs or trim programs aimed at helping middle-class people and people living right at the edge—poor people—in this country with a level of cruelty involved in what they do that is unmatched in my memory,” comments Barnicle. Will Trump’s messaging resonate with voters, or will concerns about his policies ultimately shape the midterm vote?

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