Mike Barnicle on TV

[postlink]https://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.

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Trump’s Cuba Shift Raises Bigger Questions

[postlink]https://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.

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “secret to success"

[postlink]https://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."

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

[postlink]https://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.

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Baseball season

[postlink]https://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.

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Silence is killing our democracy

[postlink]https://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.

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Save America Act Showdown

[postlink]https://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.

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Dubai under attack

[postlink]https://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.

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Iran attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz

[postlink]https://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.”

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Rubio v. Vance for 2028?

[postlink]https://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.

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Iran War fallout: 'Gas and groceries'

[postlink]https://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.

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The window of war

[postlink]https://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.

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Economic impact of the war with Iran

[postlink]https://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.

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War on Iran: “No clear end game"

[postlink]https://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.

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Trump v. law firms

[postlink]https://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.

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Noem testifies about ICE

[postlink]https://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.

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Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy?

[postlink]https://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.

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Remembering Rev. Jesse Jackson

[postlink]https://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.

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New report on Antisemitism

[postlink]https://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.

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Empathy Absent, Trust Eroded

[postlink]https://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.

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