MSNBC

Best Bet to Beat Hillary? Mika Says It's Trump
By Mark Finkelstein | December 18, 2015 | 8:20 AM EST

The polls might currently be suggesting something else, but Mika Brzezinski's view on which Republican has the best shot at beating Hillary Clinton might surprise you.

On today's Morning Joe, Mika said "If you want someone to beat Hillary Clinton, it would be Donald Trump. Because he will do things that none of those candidates will do . . . The Democratic party has a problem if Trump wins the nomination." Mika's comments came after Chuck Todd suggested that for now, Republican voters are looking for "bold colors" [i.e. Trump], but later might become more pragmatic and turn to someone with a better chance of winning.

NBC's Mitchell Claims 'A Lot of Discrimination' Vs. Muslims, GOP Says 'Really Troubling' Things
By Brad Wilmouth | December 17, 2015 | 9:56 PM EST

Nearing the end of her MSNBC program Andrea Mitchell Reports on Thursday, NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell claimed that "there is a lot of discrimination" against Muslims as she was introducing President Barack Obama's 1:00 p.m. speech.

After suggesting that some of the "rhetoric" at Tuesday's GOP presidential debate was "really a recruitment tool for ISIS," she recounted that Bernie Sanders visited a mosque yesterday and then asserted that "there is a lot of discrimination here," adding that it is "fueling the ISIS rhetoric."

Scarborough: Haley Barbour Would 'Much Rather' Have Hillary Than Trump as President
By Mark Finkelstein | December 17, 2015 | 8:47 AM EST

A modern-day variation on "better red than dead" . . .  Joe Scarborough says that Haley Barbour and many Republican leaders would "much rather" have Hillary be president than to let Trump win and represent the GOP.

On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough said that if it looks like Trump will win the nomination, something Scarborough sees as very plausible, he envisions Mitt Romney or Michael Bloomberg jumping into the race as a third-party candidate. Not really with the goal of winning, but rather to "take a bullet," splitting the vote and denying Trump the White House.

Matthews Grouses Rubio Is 'Cute' and Too Polished a Speaker
By Ken Shepherd | December 16, 2015 | 8:53 PM EST

Chris Matthews has made no secret of how much he loves the "perfect" Barack Obama in everything from his speaking style on down to his family life. But far be it from the hyperpartisan Hardball host to see Rubio's good looks and polished speaking style as plusses for him in a hypothetical general-election contest against Hillary Clinton.

MSNBC Guest: GOPers Want to 'Mass Murder Civilians' to Fight ISIS
By Brad Wilmouth | December 16, 2015 | 7:42 PM EST

Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's MSNBC Live, Linda Sarsour of the Arab-American Association of New York received no pushback from host Jose Diaz-Balart over her inflammatory assertion that some of the Republican presidential candidates "think they can mass murder civilians across the world" to defeat the ISIS threat.

She also absurdly claimed that the U.S. killed 650,000 civilians in Iraq, even though most estimates place the total number of Iraqis killed by the U.S. military much lower.

Chris Matthews Thrills: Hillary Is ‘Probable' 2016 Winner, Speculates on 2020
By Scott Whitlock | December 16, 2015 | 1:17 PM EST

During a live, post-debate edition of Hardball on Tuesday night, Chris Matthews declared Hillary Clinton the likely winner in 2016 and immediately moved on to 2020. Matthews, who famously had a “thrill" up his leg for Barack Obama, ended a segment on the current Vegas odds by declaring, “I think Hillary is favored. I think she'll probably win the general. Probably. Probably.”

Morning Joe Gushes Over Graham for Ripping Republicans on Muslim Rhetoric
By Mark Finkelstein | December 16, 2015 | 8:42 AM EST

When tagging items at NewsBusters, one of our Media Bias sub-categories is "Sudden Respect." The notion is that to win the affection of the MSM, all a Republican or conservative needs to do is turn against members or positions of his party. A great illustration of the phenomenon comes from today's Morning Joe. During last night's undercard debate, Lindsey Graham repeatedly ripped fellow Republicans for their rhetoric on Muslims, at one point even apologizing to Muslims for Donald Trump's comments.

And that of course caused what Rush might call a GrahamGasm by the Morning Joe crew. Mike Barnicle called Graham "fantastic," Nicolle Wallace said "I adore Lindsey Graham." Most amazing was Mika Brzezinski, who beyond praising him as "incredible" actually declared, sounding like she was choking up, "I feel a connection with Lindsey Graham," causing Joe Scarborough to claim [we presume facetiously] that Mika said "where has he been all my life?" Not to be outdone, Joe called on President Obama to award Graham the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Barnicle summed up the panel's sentiment by saying "thank God for Lindsey Graham."

On Twitter, MSNBC's Scarborough Attacks 'Nativist' Rubio's New Ad
By Matthew Balan | December 15, 2015 | 4:05 PM EST

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough blasted Marco Rubio in a series of posts on Twitter on Tuesday. Scarborough linked to Rubio's latest TV ad and contended that "Marco goes full-on nativist. Says he feels out of place in his own country. It's such a crass play. It's offensive." The Republican senator led the ad by stating, "This election is about the essence of America -- about all of us who feel out of place in our own country." The anchor claimed that "the second most nativist statement according to pollsters is 'these days, I feel like a stranger in my own country.'"

Purged! Morning Joe Drops Ted Cruz from Vegas Debate Image
By Mark Finkelstein | December 15, 2015 | 7:18 AM EST

UPDATE: Scarborough just discussed blooper on air, mentioning NB and this NewsBusters. Video clip below!
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Ted Cruz: MSNBC's modern-day version of Nikolai Yezhov! Yezhov was the head of Stalin's secret police who fell into disfavor and was executed during a purge. A photo of him standing next to Stalin was famously airbrushed to remove his image.

And so we come to today's Morning Joe, which displayed an image of tonight's Vegas debate stage. Photos of all the candidates appear at their assigned slots. With one exception. Ted Cruz is nowhere to be found! Simple mistake . . . or diabolical left-wing media plot to purge the #2 Republican contender?  The truth is out there!

MSNBC Likens Paris Climate Deal to 'NASA Moonshot Kind of Moment'
By Matthew Balan | December 14, 2015 | 6:33 PM EST

MSNBC's Tony Dokoupil acted more like a left-wing environmentalist than a journalist on Saturday's Weekends With Alex Witt, as he reported on the Paris climate change talks. Dokoupil trumpeted how "it's really like a Mars lander kind of moment — a NASA moonshot moment." The correspondent later touted how "history will be made" if the talks conclude successfully, and added, "I can't wait to see how it turns out, because there's going to be celebration if it's successful; and there could really be rioting in the streets here if it fails."

Andrea Mitchell Blames ‘The South’ for New York Gun Violence
By Kyle Drennen | December 14, 2015 | 3:36 PM EST

During a segment on her Monday MSNBC show using the third anniversary of the Newtown school shooting to demand gun control, host Andrea Mitchell pleaded for national legislation: “Andrew Cuomo, the governor who passed really tough gun legislation in New York....Yet he has said that it is impossible task because you can't do it state by state.”

Scarborough: Lifelong Republicans Tell Me They'll Vote for Hillary Over Cruz/Trump
By Mark Finkelstein | December 14, 2015 | 7:58 AM EST

Joe Scarborough prefaced his remarks this morning by saying "this is the sort of thing that right-wing bloggers get very angry about."  So let's oblige him . . . 

On Morning Joe, Scarborough said "I am shocked by how many Republicans, that have always voted Republican, that have said they're going to vote for Hillary if it's Cruz or Trump running against Hillary. I'm talking Deep South, Southern Baptist. I asked people who I expect to say yes, Cruz, go "hell no. No. I will never vote for Ted Cruz or Donald Trump. I will vote for Hillary Clinton."