Morning Joe: All Episodes Talk

[Eliot]

22 hours ago, Mumbles said:

These emails have nothing to do with Assange, Stone, Wikileaks. They were lawfully acquired via a FOIA request to the State Department. They were from her private server and were produced by her to State in response to the FOIA response, as FOIA covers all official, government-related communications, whether via a ".gov" email or via a non-".gov" email.

I believe they are official State Department emails provided per the FOIA request from the State Department--NOT from her private server.

The repeated calls on this show for Trump to "stay on script" symbolize what is terrible about professional politics and the hacky reporters that cover it. Don't we want authentic candidates who speak candidly and truthfully, so that we can ascertain their true character? What if Trump *had* stayed on script all these months and lulled people into believing that he was just a moderate businessman who wanted to be president? Isn't it better for our democracy that he IS letting it all hang out as it were?

Yes! Thank you! This has been the question I have been screaming at my TV for months now. Like, of all the horrible, incendiary, destructive things this vile person has been saying, his greatest offense is that he hasn't stayed on script???

Edited August 11, 2016 by Eliot

[oakville]

Donnie Deutsh made the best points today. He said that the media needed Trump for ratings during the primaries otherwise they were "iced out". Mika said they didn't need Trump during the primaries & that ratings flatlined during his phone calls. That makes no sense. If Trump was bad for rating, why did they keep having him on the show, day after day?. Mika & Joe have the power to decide who gets on the show. Furthermore, Joe spent the last few months crowing about the record TV ratings of the show during the 2016 election season. Mika is lying about saying she asked him tough questions, when they were caught on tape agreeing with Joe not to ask Trump tough questions. Donnie is right that most of the media enjoyed Trump's rise for ratings & now is betting that piling on Trump will be equally good for ratings. Donnie said Trump is now confined to Fox News.

Mika was upset that Trump called Obama the Founder of ISIS. Mika was upset that Sean Duffy still supports Trump.

Mika said she knows her viewers. Duffy challenged Willie & Mika that President Obama allowed ISIS to grow over the past 7 years. Duffy said the US military could have crushed ISIS in 2010 rather than letting them inspire terrorist attacks in the US & Europe.

Willie & Harold Ford don't think the election race is over. Mika said its over. It will be frustrating to watch Mika get hysterical every day from now till November 8.

[oakville]

Mika was grimacing at the end of the interview with Duffy when he told her that Hillary was getting better as a candidate either. She tried to be snarky & say that she felt sorry for him about Trump not getting better as a candidate. Harold Ford smirked that Hillary was leading Wisconsin by 15 points. Duffy said that the fight between Trump & Ryan was hurting Trump in Wisconsin. It should be noted that Ryan wasn't able to deliver Wisconsin to Romney in 2012 when he was the VP candidate.

[oakville]

General Hayden came on the show. Hayden explained his concerns about Trump.  Hayden said he was part of the "Group of 50" that refused to endorse Trump. Mika was upset that not one of the 50 would endorse Hillary for President. Hayden said that Hillary couldn't answer the questions about her emails. Hayden said that Hillary was incompetent when answering the question to Chris Wallace at Fox. Hayden said he wouldn't vote for President.

Mika is terrified of an "October Surprise" that could derail Hillary's campaign.

[abbyzenn]

Well I've continued to tape every day this week but I can't get through the whole show(s).   I do like it so much better without Joe.   Mika is a broken record at this point about wanting Republicans pols/leaders to repudiate Trump. 

It isn't going to happen no matter what stupid/outrageous/frightening thing he says so I wish she'd stop harping on it.

I didn't watch this show when they were all for Trump - but I did read the comments here - so I can't make sense of why they turned on him so.  But I'd bet anything Joe is still going to vote for him.

Donnie Deutsh has been good these last two mornings.

Bob Woodward sold his soul a long time ago so I don't listen to anything he says.  His last book was a whitewash for Bush and Iraq.

I don't think Trump's kids (Ivanka and the two older boys) are off limits because all three are front and center in his campaign - they appear on tv shows shilling for their father.

[jazzpno]

2 hours ago, oakville said:

Donnie Deutsh made the best points today.

 

26 minutes ago, abbyzenn said:

Donnie Deutsh has been good these last two mornings.

Now here are two comments that I never thought I'd agree with. Donnie has been guest hosting on WADR this week, and he is a good partner/counterpoint to Halperin, too. All this time I thought he was just brought on to be the comic relief. His relationship with Trump and his knowledge of PR have been an asset to the conversation.

 

2 hours ago, oakville said:

Willie & Harold Ford don't think the election race is over.

I agree; it is much too soon to tell however, Trump's insistence on saying things that are utterly stupid are going to make it harder for him to come back. Thank God for that.

30 minutes ago, abbyzenn said:

I don't think Trump's kids (Ivanka and the two older boys) are off limits because all three are front and center in his campaign - they appear on tv shows shilling for their father.

True. As it stands now, the Trumpettes are his biggest surrogates. They are as much the voice of the campaign as Omarosa or Katrina, so they have to be called on their bullshit ...excuse me...challenged on the facts, just like other surrogates.

 

2 hours ago, oakville said:

Mika said they didn't need Trump during the primaries & that ratings flatlined during his phone calls.

Yesterday, Joe railed against the other 16 Republican primary candidates, saying that if Trump won, they were to blame. It's true that they all bear some responsibility for not challenging Trump harder when they had the chance, but it is also true that the media gave him way more access and screen time than the other 16 combined. Poor Jeb only got coverage when he said something stupid, and Marco and Christie got more coverage for their reaction to Trump than they did for their own campaigns. Joe and Mika opened every show with a status update on Trump, and they never challenged any of the ridiculous things he said. Joe has to realize that there is recorded evidence of this. Doesn't he watch his own show? He just can't rewrite history after fawning all over Trump, and his attempts to challenge him sound shallow to those of us who remember last summer.

[Landsnark]

There is a universe of difference between Ivanka Trump, reality TV star, professional executive (thanks, Dad), public speaker, political advisor, etc... and Malia and Natasha.  Ivanka is Trump's child.  But is an adult and a political activist; not a civilian.  Malia and Natasha are actual children; civilians. 
We're all someone's child, Bob Woodward, you fucking moron.
It's disturbing to watch him.  He seems feeble.  Physically and mentally.  100% chance at Thanksgiving and Xmas dinners he talks and talks and talks to his entire family, and not one person pays a lick of attention to him.

[Mumbles]

Quote

It boggles my mind to think of the tv movie that will one day be made ala Game Change by a behind the scenes Trump handler. His daily antics make Palin look quaint in comparison. 

This would make a good movie but I don't think it will happen. The only reason Game Change happened was because weasels like Steve Schmidt and Cackles wanted to maintain their employability and importance in the political hack community and so they went to Halperin and told their side of the story.

The clownshow behind Trump are political neophytes (except for Manafort) who think they're doing just great and don't anticipate a non-Trump political career. Katrina Pierson is NOT going to do another campaign.

One possibility however is if the RNC has stuck some of their operatives in the campaign, as the national committees often do. *Those* people would have an incentive to tell tales our of school. 

[Bossa Nova]

Quote

joe wears a jacket today but with a gingham shirt, no tie. Always has to present himself as a person so important he doesn't have to follow the dress code

You nailed it at last, novhappy (for me anyway !). My pet peeves about how they dress. The overly casual dress between both M and J screams: '....we just stopped in here on our way to do something more important and fun. Y-a-w-n.....now what were you saying about terrorism, Senator, Governor, Mr. Vice President '....(anybody deserving of dignity, respect and some deference)?

And when Mika wears that blue gingham shirt, along with her blonde short hair, I swear she is channeling Timmy from Lassie.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Bossa Nova
to give earlier poster credit for their idea by adding their nam

[MulletorHater]

5 hours ago, oakville said:

Donnie Deutsh made the best points today. He said that the media needed Trump for ratings during the primaries otherwise they were "iced out". Mika said they didn't need Trump during the primaries & that ratings flatlined during his phone calls. That makes no sense. If Trump was bad for rating, why did they keep having him on the show, day after day?. Mika & Joe have the power to decide who gets on the show. Furthermore, Joe spent the last few months crowing about the record TV ratings of the show during the 2016 election season. Mika is lying about saying she asked him tough questions, when they were caught on tape agreeing with Joe not to ask Trump tough questions. Donnie is right that most of the media enjoyed Trump's rise for ratings & now is betting that piling on Trump will be equally good for ratings. Donnie said Trump is now confined to Fox News.

 

 

2 hours ago, jazzpno said:

Yesterday, Joe railed against the other 16 Republican primary candidates, saying that if Trump won, they were to blame. It's true that they all bear some responsibility for not challenging Trump harder when they had the chance, but it is also true that the media gave him way more access and screen time than the other 16 combined. Poor Jeb only got coverage when he said something stupid, and Marco and Christie got more coverage for their reaction to Trump than they did for their own campaigns. Joe and Mika opened every show with a status update on Trump, and they never challenged any of the ridiculous things he said. Joe has to realize that there is recorded evidence of this. Doesn't he watch his own show? He just can't rewrite history after fawning all over Trump, and his attempts to challenge him sound shallow to those of us who remember last summer.

For all their backpedaling, Joe and Meek-a apparently can't keep their lies straight.  Or, did we only imagine it that Trump was able to call into their show everyday and that they both reveled in the ratings.  Their show became Trump Central and they acted as if nothing else was going on in the world.  Evidently, we're supposed to believe them instead of our lying eyes.  I seem to recall that Meek-a couldn't even bring herself to ask Jersey Boy Bully, Chris Christie, tough questions.  So excuse me if I call bullshit on her ridiculous claim that she asked Trump tough questions.  That tape spoke for itself and Joe and Meek-a were rightly excoriated for it.

I won't even touch on their sickening "Mr. Trump Goes to the Hill" coverage.  They treated the guy as if he were some head of state.  His every movement was chronicled.  "See Trump get out of his limo!"  "Oh my gosh--the seas just roared and the mountains just crumbled.  See Trump walk on air!"  "See Trump take a dump!"   

I was also reminded of the bold statement that the president of CBS made in an unguarded moment.  To paraphrase, he claimed that although it was bad for the American voters, Trump was ratings gold for the networks.  Fox's ratings shot through the roof after that first debate and the other networks took note.

It is said that Americans have woefully short memories.  However, many of us have excellent memories.  In addition to Joe and Meek-a's fawning,  some of us recall how Joe acted like a jilted lover when Trump deigned to give Megyn Kelly a follow-up interview.  He couldn't even hide how pissed he was.

[Mumbles]

Quote

won't even touch on their sickening "Mr. Trump Goes to the Hill" coverage.  They treated the guy as if he were some head of state.  His every movement was chronicled.  "See Trump get out of his limo!"  "Oh my gosh--the seas just roared and the mountains just crumbled.  See Trump walk on air!"  "See Trump take a dump!"   

Oh man. I think they even had Luke Russert doing remotes from Capitol Hill.

My theory is, they changed course on Trump when Larry Wilmore scathingly joked at the Correspondents Dinner that Chris Christie was so far up Trump's ass he could see the Morning Joe people. The gig was up.

As for the ratings - I actually kinda agree that he didn't do much for the ratings. This show has terrible promotion, Trump always called in (never in-studio) and the time would always vary - they would say "coming up in the next segment, Donald Trump!" and he would eventually call in like an hour later.

[oakville]

5 hours ago, Mumbles said:

This would make a good movie but I don't think it will happen. The only reason Game Change happened was because weasels like Steve Schmidt and Cackles wanted to maintain their employability and importance in the political hack community and so they went to Halperin and told their side of the story.

The clownshow behind Trump are political neophytes (except for Manafort) who think they're doing just great and don't anticipate a non-Trump political career. Katrina Pierson is NOT going to do another campaign.

One possibility however is if the RNC has stuck some of their operatives in the campaign, as the national committees often do. *Those* people would have an incentive to tell tales our of school. 

Agreed. I thin it was outrageous for Cackles to not resign from the campaign the moment that she learned that Sarah Palin was not fit to be VP. If McCain had been elected , she would have never leaked the info about Palin to the press. She is a hypocrite.

 

I also remember that the first few days after Palin was selected by McCain, Mika was giddy that Sarah Palin was a working mom like her & she fawned all over her. I don't recall Mika apologizing for that either.

[oakville]

3 hours ago, MulletorHater said:

 

For all their backpedaling, Joe and Meek-a apparently can't keep their lies straight.  Or, did we only imagine it that Trump was able to call into their show everyday and that they both reveled in the ratings.  Their show became Trump Central and they acted as if nothing else was going on in the world.  Evidently, we're supposed to believe them instead of our lying eyes.  I seem to recall that Meek-a couldn't even bring herself to ask Jersey Boy Bully, Chris Christie, tough questions.  So excuse me if I call bullshit on her ridiculous claim that she asked Trump tough questions.  That tape spoke for itself and Joe and Meek-a were rightly excoriated for it.

I won't even touch on their sickening "Mr. Trump Goes to the Hill" coverage.  They treated the guy as if he were some head of state.  His every movement was chronicled.  "See Trump get out of his limo!"  "Oh my gosh--the seas just roared and the mountains just crumbled.  See Trump walk on air!"  "See Trump take a dump!"   

I was also reminded of the bold statement that the president of CBS made in an unguarded moment.  To paraphrase, he claimed that although it was bad for the American voters, Trump was ratings gold for the networks.  Fox's ratings shot through the roof after that first debate and the other networks took note.

It is said that Americans have woefully short memories.  However, many of us have excellent memories.  In addition to Joe and Meek-a's fawning,  some of us recall how Joe acted like a jilted lover when Trump deigned to give Megyn Kelly a follow-up interview.  He couldn't even hide how pissed he was.

Agreed. The beauty of this forum is that I can look up what was being posted during various shows during the election season. I wish Jon Stewart was still around , so he could post clips from the winter proving the Trump lovefest that Mika & Joe had for hm. It was ridiculous. I used to start my posts with "Morning Trump".

During that period, Joe said that other GOP's wouldn't come on the show, which I find hard to believe.

Mika & Joe used their personal friendship with Trump to secure daily interviews with him. It's easily conceivable that Trump made a deal with them not to allow other GOP candidates on the show when he was appearing.

Donnie Deutsh earned my respect today by explaining how important the ratings are to the business model & how the shows compete with each other for guests.

[Mumbles]

Quote

I also remember that the first few days after Palin was selected by McCain, Mika was giddy that Sarah Palin was a working mom like her & she fawned all over her. I don't recall Mika apologizing for that either.

In fairness to Mika, none of us knew what a disaster she ended up being at first. Even Hillary Clinton sent out a complimentary statement to the press after the pick was announced. The first clue was that the campaign made her generally unavailable to the press, except for the infamous Katie Couric interview set up by Katie's friend Cackles (which, depending who you listen to, was set up as a softball, or, as Palin now claims, as a set-up by Cackles to undermine her.)

[oakville]

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

In fairness to Mika, none of us knew what a disaster she ended up being at first. Even Hillary Clinton sent out a complimentary statement to the press after the pick was announced. The first clue was that the campaign made her generally unavailable to the press, except for the infamous Katie Couric interview set up by Katie's friend Cackles (which, depending who you listen to, was set up as a softball, or, as Palin now claims, as a set-up by Cackles to undermine her.)

I don't trust Cackles. She should have ensured that Palin would be prepared for a tough interview. Isn't she supposed to be a communications specialist? Frankly, I don't know how Palin passed the vetting process. Wouldn't Cackles have

Trump calls Joe "sad & irrelevant"!. Doesn't Trump know that Joe talks to world leaders!

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-joe-scarborough-feud-226869

[oakville]

Here' some commentary on Morning Joe's ratings & their love for Trump in May 2016.

http://www.thewrap.com/are-donald-trumps-attacks-on-morning-joe-ratings-accurate/

[Mumbles]

Today's last guest was a columnist (I think from the NYT?) who talked about the differences in the press coverage between Trump and Clinton. He pointed out that early on, nobody in the press took the Trump campaign seriously, viewing it as a stunt and assuming he would eventually drop out.  Mika used the opportunity to actually spin a defense that she and the people on the show recognized early on that Trump was tapping into the anger of many voters and that he was in it for the long run - and that while people now are accusing the show as going soft or cheerleading for Trump, all they were *actually* doing was trying to point out to the rest of the cynical press that Trump was in it for the long run.

She sounded defensive as hell and it all came out in a rush as if she had been memorizing it for a while and just waiting for the right opportunity.

So that's the spin folks. They weren't rooting for Trump. They were just visionaries who saw his success when everyone else was just rolling their eyes.

[Landsnark]

The NYT columnist and the former Marine author who wrote "Hillbilly" something or other, and Adnan With The Hair & Ted Talk were really good guests.  When Joe is off set, panelists can speak.  They each could have used more time and more segments.

[SFoster21]

23 hours ago, Landsnark said:

There is a universe of difference between Ivanka Trump, reality TV star, professional executive (thanks, Dad), public speaker, political advisor, etc... and Malia and Natasha.  Ivanka is Trump's child.  But is an adult and a political activist; not a civilian.  Malia and Natasha are actual children; civilians. 
We're all someone's child, Bob Woodward, you fucking moron.
It's disturbing to watch him.  He seems feeble.  Physically and mentally.  100% chance at Thanksgiving and Xmas dinners he talks and talks and talks to his entire family, and not one person pays a lick of attention to him.

Sasha. 

[novhappy]

I would love to hear more from the 3 you mentioned, landsnark. It would be a better show rather an hour or more of Mika and Joe shouting/lecturing into the ether about what every politician should be doing- with occasional outbursts about  their accurate predictions and vast knowledge. 

When the columnist said he felt he could write about his opinions and feelings because he is a columnist and not a straight journalist Mika said "us too that's how we feel". Very honest moment. You are not journalists. 

[Landsnark]

2 minutes ago, SFoster21 said:

Sasha

Wow.  I really got that wrong. 

[Mumbles]

Natasha is Sasha's "real" name. Sasha is her nickname.

[oakville]

12 hours ago, Mumbles said:

Today's last guest was a columnist (I think from the NYT?) who talked about the differences in the press coverage between Trump and Clinton. He pointed out that early on, nobody in the press took the Trump campaign seriously, viewing it as a stunt and assuming he would eventually drop out.  Mika used the opportunity to actually spin a defense that she and the people on the show recognized early on that Trump was tapping into the anger of many voters and that he was in it for the long run - and that while people now are accusing the show as going soft or cheerleading for Trump, all they were *actually* doing was trying to point out to the rest of the cynical press that Trump was in it for the long run.

She sounded defensive as hell and it all came out in a rush as if she had been memorizing it for a while and just waiting for the right opportunity.

So that's the spin folks. They weren't rooting for Trump. They were just visionaries who saw his success when everyone else was just rolling their eyes.

I haven't seen that segment yet, but what a load of BS from Mika. Mika & Joe have a history of cozying up to Governors who may run for president. I remember Mika trying to get Chris Christie in 2010 to join her run around the Washington Monument. They were also very friendly with Gov Mark Sanford of SC & Bob McDonnell of Virginia. All 3 Governors have faced scandal.

 

Could Mika & Joe's support be the kiss of death for politicians political ambitions? Discuss...

[novhappy]

I don't know if they are the kiss of death but they are not very discerning. They love the flavor of the month! As for Trump he probably went into it for publicity, to hear himself rant and wasn't in it for the long haul. But they have him the airtime and ego strokes to fuel him all through the primaries. 

[MulletorHater]

On 8/12/2016 at 11:05 PM, oakville said:

I haven't seen that segment yet, but what a load of BS from Mika. Mika & Joe have a history of cozying up to Governors who may run for president. I remember Mika trying to get Chris Christie in 2010 to join her run around the Washington Monument. They were also very friendly with Gov Mark Sanford of SC & Bob McDonnell of Virginia. All 3 Governors have faced scandal.

 

Could Mika & Joe's support be the kiss of death for politicians political ambitions? Discuss...

Oakville, you raise a very valid point in your question.  I started thinking that months ago with Govenor Christie.  It's quite apparent with Trump.  Perhaps if they controlled their obvious ambitions, they wouldn't be so flat-footed when their "starrahs" crash and burn.  Once again, it was fellow MSNBC hosts, Rachel Maddow and Steve Kornacki, who raised the alarm about the goings-on in New Jersey.  Joe and Mika dismissed those concerns out of hand and were downright contemptuous toward Christie's critics.  I won't even touch on their support of Governor Sanford while disparaging President Clinton and his loose-zipper antics, along with his wife's decision to stay with him.

I think this year's post mortem needs to also take the mainstream media to task for their role in this year's debacle.  It's no wonder that Trump could boast early on that he was self-financing his campaign, particularly with all the free, round-the-clock media coverage he received.  It is only now that the media are doing serious analyses on Trump's shady business practices, including his campaign manager's ties to at least two despots.  The New York Times this morning has a lead story about a secret ledger in Ukraine, which lists cash for Manafort.  So much for choosing the best people, eh Trump?  You simply can't make this stuff up.  I wonder if these ties will be investigated more closely by the FBI.  I also suspect that Joe will cover this issue now, whereas months ago he wouldn't have touched it.  Plus, he would have harangued about it being unfair and untrue, and not that big a deal (i.e., Christie and Bridge-gate).

[oakville]

Monday Recap. Joe is wearing a navy blue sweater again!. Mika is off. The soccer guy, Roger is back. Katty Kay's eyebrows are higher than ever. It must have been the latest Trump blunders. Halperin & Meecham were on the panel. The consesus is that Trump doesn't want to win & won't listen to any advisors. Trump likes rallies & blasts the "crooked" media. Joe said he needs to stick to a script & stay off twitter.

Joe bragged about dozens of media coming u to him and ask him about Trump's chances in Pennsylvania. Joe said Trump can't win Penn, because the Democrats have a 500K lead in Philly.

Jo said Rubio or Bush would be doing far better against Hillary. Katty said the media would cover the Clinton scandals more if it wasn't for the daily Trump blunders.

Trump was upset about the vote id laws being struck down in Penn. Trump wants voters to have ID to vote.

Joe quoted a number of battleground polls. Hillary leads by 14 in Col & 13 in VA. Hillary leads by 9 in NC ( Romney won in 2012). Hillary is up 5 in Florida.

Joe said the GOP should listen to him & stop funding Trump. They have to focus on the Senate & House. Joe said that there are few Trump signs in his district. Is Joe's brother's not putting up any signs?

 

Steve King from Iowa came on to say that he can work with Hillary in meetings if her staff isn't thre. She is knwledgeable about issues.

They briefly discused the Milwaukee violence with Al Sharpton who was in Martha's Vineyard. Joe said they should release the footage from the Body Camera. Sharpton said Milwaukee was very segregated & that the police aren't involved with the community.

Joe was less bombastic than usual today.

[oakville]

Joe brought up the story about the Clinton donor who was appointed to a nuclear safety board without any qualifications. He gave between 1-5 million. Katty said you can usually get an Ambassador's job for that level of donation but it's not right to get appointed to that board. Halperin agreed & said the Clintons were smart to have him removed from the board when it was questioned by the media.

[oakville]

40 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

Oakville, you raise a very valid point in your question.  I started thinking that months ago with Govenor Christie.  It's quite apparent with Trump.  Perhaps if they controlled their obvious ambitions, they wouldn't be so flat-footed when their "starrahs" crash and burn.  Once again, it was fellow MSNBC hosts, Rachel Maddow and Steve Kornacki, who raised the alarm about the goings-on in New Jersey.  Joe and Mika dismissed those concerns out of hand and were downright contemptuous toward Christie's critics.  I won't even touch on their support of Governor Sanford while disparaging President Clinton and his loose-zipper antics, along with his wife's decision to stay with him.

I think this year's post mortem needs to also take the mainstream media to task for their role in this year's debacle.  It's no wonder that Trump could boast early on that he was self-financing his campaign, particularly with all the free, round-the-clock media coverage he received.  It is only now that the media are doing serious analyses on Trump's shady business practices, including his campaign manager's ties to at least two despots.  The New York Times this morning has a lead story about a secret ledger in Ukraine, which lists cash for Manafort.  So much for choosing the best people, eh Trump?  You simply can't make this stuff up.  I wonder if these ties will be investigated more closely by the FBI.  I also suspect that Joe will cover this issue now, whereas months ago he wouldn't have touched it.  Plus, he would have harangued about it being unfair and untrue, and not that big a deal (i.e., Christie and Bridge-gate).

Thanks Mullett !. It has been very frustrating to watch most of the media coverage of the election, especially on Morning Joe. They used to have more in depth policy discussions with interesting guests. This cycle has turned into a bad reality show. It's always about horse race coverage. They waste too much time on polls.  I always thought that Trump's shady business deals & outrageous campaign statements would prevent him from doing that well with voters. I am not sure why Mika & Joe would want to blow their credibility over Trump? were the free trips to Mar A Lago worth it?

[Mumbles]

Quote

They used to have more in depth policy discussions with interesting guests. This cycle has turned into a bad reality show. It's always about horse race coverage. They waste too much time on polls.

Amen. For the past two months now, they open the show spending the first segment - if not the first hour - discussing  the Awful Thing Trump Said Yesterday (and there's always something), and then we get 20 minutes to an hour of their tut-tutting and shaking their heads as if they can't believe this is happening. And then that first segment is repeated at 8. 

I'm sure a lot of this is done to counter the accusations that they were cheerleading and egging Trump on. Fine. But there's more to the world than Trump. Yes you should report on him, but there is other news to discuss as well.

And yes, enough with the inside baseball crap. Halperin. Cackles (I haven't seen her in a while - vacation?). Harold Ford has rarely had an interesting thought. Barnicle shouldn't even be on the show (plagiarist) but if they insist, keep it to once a week.

Not for nothing that the most interesting segments last week were the journalist from the Times talking about media coverage, and the author who had written a book about CAA. Bring on more guests! Journalists, documentarians, authors. I would think non-fiction authors would love this booking, not many shows have non-celebrity authors these days.

[oakville]

10 hours ago, Mumbles said:

Amen. For the past two months now, they open the show spending the first segment - if not the first hour - discussing  the Awful Thing Trump Said Yesterday (and there's always something), and then we get 20 minutes to an hour of their tut-tutting and shaking their heads as if they can't believe this is happening. And then that first segment is repeated at 8. 

I'm sure a lot of this is done to counter the accusations that they were cheerleading and egging Trump on. Fine. But there's more to the world than Trump. Yes you should report on him, but there is other news to discuss as well.

And yes, enough with the inside baseball crap. Halperin. Cackles (I haven't seen her in a while - vacation?). Harold Ford has rarely had an interesting thought. Barnicle shouldn't even be on the show (plagiarist) but if they insist, keep it to once a week.

Not for nothing that the most interesting segments last week were the journalist from the Times talking about media coverage, and the author who had written a book about CAA. Bring on more guests! Journalists, documentarians, authors. I would think non-fiction authors would love this booking, not many shows have non-celebrity authors these days.

Agreed. I think Mika & Joe are trying to mimmick Jon Stewart from the Daily Show. They think they are cool by reacting with shock & horror to the latest statement by Trump. I enjoy the interviews with authors & have bought some books based on those interviews. I think Joe is represented by the super agent Ari Emmanuel.

[Mumbles]

If you closed your eyes this morning, you could have thought this was November 9 and everyone was talking how Trump lost the election. For, like, 3 hours. One guest mentioned that *maybe* it is premature to talk about Trump's loss and to wait and see how he fares on the debate or there could be a bombshell involving the Clintons, but he was pretty quickly pooh-poohed.

A particularly sickening moment came when they were discussing Rubio's pathetic "he's a con man but I support him" position and one of the panelists said that while Cruz went overboard in his response to Trump at the convention, the better route is the Kasich/Jeb approach to just ignore Trump. IMO Cruz's exhortation to vote your conscience was his finest moment and perhaps the bravest response of all the major GOP players to Trump and far superior to the passive-aggressive "stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears and say "la la I can't hear you" " approach of those others. Only in political hackland is that the better approach than telling people to vote your conscience.

Again Donnie Deutsch surprises with a cogent observation that despite the fact that Clinton has dismal honesty/trustworthiness poll numbers, this election has come down to Untrustworthy versus Dangerous.

[Nidratime]

I love how Lupica comes on and says that if only Kasich were the nominee, he'd be crushing Hillary. Right. He'd definitely have made the race more competitive, but I doubt he'd be crushing her. He'd be attracting much more of the suburban GOP supporters, like Romney did and that's the difference.

Anyway, I really wanted to mention that guy from the Examiner (a local, weekly conservative paper) and the pollster that worked with them to poll "Washington Elites." They never defined that term. Who do they consider "Washington Elites?" People living inside the Beltway, regardless? Or, more likely, people just like the ones on that very Morning Joe panel every day, including Joe, who constantly talks about how he's in touch with regular people and knows their concerns. So, basically, they're just holding a mirror up to the very people they're sitting next to -- many of whom come to Washington from "the Heartland" to work for Congress people or an Administration or the media and never leave. They certainly don't grow them here. 

[Ladyrain]

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

If you closed your eyes this morning, you could have thought this was November 9 and everyone was talking how Trump lost the election. For, like, 3 hours. One guest mentioned that *maybe* it is premature to talk about Trump's loss and to wait and see how he fares on the debate or there could be a bombshell involving the Clintons, but he was pretty quickly pooh-poohed.

A particularly sickening moment came when they were discussing Rubio's pathetic "he's a con man but I support him" position and one of the panelists said that while Cruz went overboard in his response to Trump at the convention, the better route is the Kasich/Jeb approach to just ignore Trump. IMO Cruz's exhortation to vote your conscience was his finest moment and perhaps the bravest response of all the major GOP players to Trump and far superior to the passive-aggressive "stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears and say "la la I can't hear you" " approach of those others. Only in political hackland is that the better approach than telling people to vote your conscience.

Again Donnie Deutsch surprises with a cogent observation that despite the fact that Clinton has dismal honesty/trustworthiness poll numbers, this election has come down to Untrustworthy versus Dangerous.

I totally agree with you on your Cruz assessment.  I too was (pleasantly) taken aback by his stance on voting, and believe me, I detest that man.  However, he seems to be the only one with a working set of principles out of the whole bunch.  Yes, the Bushies boycotted the convention but have any on them come right out and denounced tRump?  I'm asking, as I really don't know; just haven't heard anything to that effect. 

[cased]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

If you closed your eyes this morning, you could have thought this was November 9 and everyone was talking how Trump lost the election. For, like, 3 hours. One guest mentioned that *maybe* it is premature to talk about Trump's loss and to wait and see how he fares on the debate or there could be a bombshell involving the Clintons, but he was pretty quickly pooh-poohed.

A particularly sickening moment came when they were discussing Rubio's pathetic "he's a con man but I support him" position and one of the panelists said that while Cruz went overboard in his response to Trump at the convention, the better route is the Kasich/Jeb approach to just ignore Trump. IMO Cruz's exhortation to vote your conscience was his finest moment and perhaps the bravest response of all the major GOP players to Trump and far superior to the passive-aggressive "stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears and say "la la I can't hear you" " approach of those others. Only in political hackland is that the better approach than telling people to vote your conscience.

Again Donnie Deutsch surprises with a cogent observation that despite the fact that Clinton has dismal honesty/trustworthiness poll numbers, this election has come down to Untrustworthy versus Dangerous.

I used to really dislike Donnie Deutsch, but recently I have been finding him to be reasonably interesting at times. At least he is much better than Mike Barnicle who sits there like a log 90% of the time, and rarely contributes anything that is remotely interesting.

[MulletorHater]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

If you closed your eyes this morning, you could have thought this was November 9 and everyone was talking how Trump lost the election. For, like, 3 hours. One guest mentioned that *maybe* it is premature to talk about Trump's loss and to wait and see how he fares on the debate or there could be a bombshell involving the Clintons, but he was pretty quickly pooh-poohed.

A particularly sickening moment came when they were discussing Rubio's pathetic "he's a con man but I support him" position and one of the panelists said that while Cruz went overboard in his response to Trump at the convention, the better route is the Kasich/Jeb approach to just ignore Trump. IMO Cruz's exhortation to vote your conscience was his finest moment and perhaps the bravest response of all the major GOP players to Trump and far superior to the passive-aggressive "stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears and say "la la I can't hear you" " approach of those others. Only in political hackland is that the better approach than telling people to vote your conscience.

Again Donnie Deutsch surprises with a cogent observation that despite the fact that Clinton has dismal honesty/trustworthiness poll numbers, this election has come down to Untrustworthy versus Dangerous.

Did they at least discuss Trump's foreign policy speech and whether his desire for "extreme vetting" of immigrants a viable goal?  Although I'm a relatively young Boomer, I've voted in enough elections to be wary of October surprises.  Trump's obvious unfitness aside, no voter should take anything for granted at this point.  

Your post about Cruz only highlights how seriously damaged the GOP is anytime someone considered the most detestable man in D.C. is considered a profile in courage.  The New York Times even wasted valuable space on its opinion pages yesterday so that former Governor Mark Sanford could explain why he supports Trump, but, oh, he wants him to produce those tax returns.  Evidently, it's all about the Supreme Court.  So, they're willing to overlook the racism, narcissism, bro-mance with Putin, etc. for a shot at placing a conservative on the Supreme Court (as if they own Scalia's seat or something).  I suspect that Jeb and his family's lack of support comes more from their family loyalty and anger that Jeb was "robbed" of the chance to burnish his brother's legacy.  I also suspect that the other craven cowards in the party desperately need Trump's base  to secure their own positions.  

It's ridiculous that Joe wants to act as if he's taking a principled stand now.  I'll see how he feels if Trump happens to best Secretary Clinton in the debates.  I seem to recall his smugness and glee after Governor Romney "won" the first debate against President Obama.

[abbyzenn]

So agree that this show is repetitive - every morning it's POLLS POLLS POLLS.  Why not have some real analysis of the numbers - especially since you have a panel of "analysists".  But what really really annoys me is that Joe and/or Halperin, after crucifying Trump will always bring up either "it's still early yet" or "there'll be another Clinton scandal."   I agree that it's too early to say it's over but in that case stop making POLLS POLLS POLLS  first hour of conversation.

Donnie D has been very reasonable.  Didn't he use to be on a financial show?  If he's the one, I liked him then.

I did like that they actually showed tapes of Trump contradicting himself (For the Iraq invasion/against; get rid of Kadifi/shouldn't do it; get rid of Mubarak/don't get rid of Mubarak).  The Clinton campaign should run this type of stuff as ads.  It might also get thru to some of those (not the rabid supporters) who think Trump is more honest Clinton.

Teddysmom - is Conway the one with the long blonde hair who looks far too old for such hair?  I've seen her on a couple of shows and she's horrible.  Can't answer a question about Trump without deflecting it back to Clinton.

[Eliot]

5 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

I totally agree with you on your Cruz assessment.  I too was (pleasantly) taken aback by his stance on voting, and believe me, I detest that man.  However, he seems to be the only one with a working set of principles out of the whole bunch.  Yes, the Bushies boycotted the convention but have any on them come right out and denounced tRump?  I'm asking, as I really don't know; just haven't heard anything to that effect. 

Don't kid yourself. Ted Cruz doesn't do anything that is not calculated to benefit Ted Cruz. He's a shrewd guy and had the foresight to realize what a train wreck the Trump campaign was going to be, so he distanced himself from it in the most public way possible. Sad to see the MJ crew are falling for it.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Eliot

[Ladyrain]

4 hours ago, Eliot said:

Don't kid yourself. Ted Cruz doesn't do anything that is not calculated to benefit Ted Cruz. He's a shrewd guy and had the foresight to realize what a train wreck the Trump campaign was going to be, so he distanced himself from it in the most public way possible.

True enough, but at least he had the balls to do it, which is more than can be said for the rest of the herd.  Please don't misunderstand, I cannot stand Ted Cruz.  Smarmy is his middle name and I detest every one of his positions on the issues.  But at least he had the balls to separate from the pack, in a very public forum.  I abhor Ted Cruz and everything he stands for  - and now I will surely burn in hell for even a whiff of faint praise for that weasel.  Bless me Father, for I have sinned. . . . . . . . .

Edited August 16, 2016 by Ladyrain

[Mumbles]

Bushies boycotted the convention but have any on them come right out and denounced tRump?

They are so pathetic that Jeb's son, who is an elected official in Texas, came out and said the party needs to rally behind Trump. This after how Trump ridiculed his father. What a hack.

As for state department appointments - I think it's no secret that for the non-essential but "fun" ambassadorships, those are given out to supporters and donors. Disgusting but true for both parties. What the show was talking about today is a controversial appointment by Clinton to a commodities broker/large donor to a board that discussed national security. He had no experience in the field. Even her own flunkies were concerned about it, according to the emails. Far more crucial than having cocktail parties in Stockholm.

[Nidratime]

Quote

Don't kid yourself. Ted Cruz doesn't do anything that is not calculated to benefit Ted Cruz. He's a shrewd guy and had the foresight to realize what a train wreck the Trump campaign was going to be, so he distanced himself from it in the most public way possible.

He also wants to make himself viable for a run in 2020. 

[oakville]

Quite a discussion today on the forum!The panel should stop trying to say that the election is over. It's not.

Joe was dressed approriately today. I wonder why.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Guys, a number of posts have been hidden because they veered into general political talk and that is not acceptable here.   Please keep it related to what's on the show/what's being discussed on the show.

Thanks. 

[NewDigs]

So, let me get this straight.

Joe plays a snippet of a Trump speech in which Trump uses the words "regime change" before going on with a more moderate speech and Joe does not mention the "regime change" part and instead focuses of Trump's "pivot"? Really? 

Oh, and Joe? That shirt does not go with that sweater. Should have stuck with the navy blue. Or maybe a jacket? Like everyone else at the table is wearing?

Gah!

[teddysmom]

Quote

Oh, and Joe? That shirt does not go with that sweater. Should have stuck with the navy blue. Or maybe a jacket? Like everyone else at the table is wearing?

Is it 40 degrees in the studio?  How the heck is he wearing that sweater?  It made me itchy just looking at him. 

[NewDigs]

8 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

Is it 40 degrees in the studio?  How the heck is he wearing that sweater?  It made me itchy just looking at him. 

It's like he couldn't decide if it was summer or winter so split the difference w/a summery shirt and an itchy winter sweater.

And then when they were standing together at the end he had just one front shirttail hanging out. Sloppy.

Maybe Mika is refusing to dress him. 

[Mumbles]

So they have a Nobel-prize winning economist on for the last 5 minutes to talk about how the Euro has failed - a fascinating topic and a qualified guest. They can only ask a few questions and then Joe finished the interview, noting that they wish they had more time.

Uh, an idea, Joe: instead of wasting 15 minutes or so with hacky gasbags like Mike Murphy talking about polls taken 80+ days before an election, why don't you book interesting guests and give them the proper amount of time earlier in the show?

[graybrown bird]

Quote

Uh, an idea, Joe: instead of wasting 15 minutes or so with hacky gasbags like Mike Murphy talking about polls taken 80+ days before an election, why don't you book interesting guests and give them the proper amount of time earlier in the show?

 

Now I'd make it a point to tune in for that, instead of making it a point only to read this forum about the constant poll-talk.

[Landsnark]

What did the economist say about the Euro?

[Mumbles]

The economist (Joseph Stiglitz) said it was a nice idea but doomed from the start, because the cultures of the participating companies were too different for it to really work. For example, countries have different approaches to resolving their own slowing economies, and those approaches affect the other countries because they're now all yoked together. He said the rules governing the euro are too stringent - e.g. Limitations on deficit spending. He says Germany should go it alone (which would probably result in the demise of the euro.)

[oakville]

Joe is still wearing that awful sweater. I think he does this on purpose to annoy viewers. The panel discussed the Breitbart campaign manager.  Joe said Paul Ryan hates Breitbart.

The new focus will be on attacking Hillary Clinton.

The panel discussed the ranson payment for the Iranian hostages. Obama said it wasn't a ranson payment & the US owed Iran the money for over 30 years.

Katty Kay was upset with the failure of the Obama administration in Syria. There were more bombings in Syria.

Joe said Trump has to do more than just criticize the failures in Syria & Iran. Joe said Europe & Nato remain silent in Syria.

Joe didn't ask his boys to volunteer to fight in Syria. Joe should have a solution to the Syrian problem by the end of the show. Joe will probably bring up safe zones in Syria.