Morning Joe squarely blames Trump and his aides for the government shutdown
Monday's Morning Joe on MSNBC started off with video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) talking about the impossibility of negotiating with President Trump on immigration and the government shutdown, then Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blaming the partial shutdown on 32-year-old Trump aide Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner.
In case it wasn't clear which party Morning Joe's anchors blame for the shutdown, Mika Brzezinski quoted The Washington Post: "Yet another period of Trump-fueled tumult [...] pinging from one upheaval to the next — while clearly not understanding the policy nuances of the negotiation." Joe Scarborough, who counseled Democrats to stay resolute in the face of Republican intransigence, exclaimed, "A 32-year-old aide has shut down the government!"
While the Morning Joe crew has the blame game figured out, The Washington Post also noted Monday that it's still "unclear whether the public would blame the Republicans, who control the White House and Congress, or Democrats taking a stand on immigration while shuttering government agencies."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Gavin Newsom and Dr. Oz feud over fraud allegationsIn the Spotlight Newsom called Oz’s behavior ‘baseless and racist’
-
‘Admin night’: the TikTok trend turning paperwork into a partyThe Explainer Grab your friends and make a night of tackling the most boring tasks
-
Find art, beautiful parks and bright pink soup in VilniusThe Week Recommends The city offers the best of a European capital
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
