Thursday on Morning Joe, hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski spent a large part of the show discussing Sean Spicer’s reaction to reporter April Ryan during Tuesday's White House press conference. This prompted each of them to question his "stability" and "credibility." Brzezinski introduced the segment with: “Yesterday I was questioning Sean Spicer's credibility because I really think it's at risk, in jeopardy or shot. If you really think about it and go through kind of a time-line. Now you might want to add questioning his stability. In yesterday's press brief– did you see him yesterday? He kind of snapped.”
After the other panelists agreed with her, she continued: “I think things are getting in his head which is really early for that to be happening. But then again, think about it. It happened when American Urban Radio correspondent April Ryan questioned him over the administration's image. And I didn't really see her shaking her head.” Scarborough agreed: “She wasn’t -- She didn’t shake her head.” After the two concluded she was not shaking her head and Brzezinski foolishly acted this out, she went on to say: “I never saw any head shaking.” She then introduced the clip of Spicer and Ryan.
The clip concluded with Scarborough and Brzezinski exclaiming “Oh my God!” and “What is wrong with him?” Scarborough continued: “How condescending can anybody be? This is not a first grade class. That was just simply beyond the pale.” Brzezinski concurred:“Someone is in way over his head”
MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle shared his thoughts, saying: “Well – Yes. I mean, there's a part of me that has great sympathy for him because he's got an audience of one that he's dealing with, the President of the United States. The other thing is, he clearly does not have the temperament to be press secretary.” Scarborough agreed: “No he doesn’t...The thing is, you just don't have to be abusive, and in that situation...I’ve never heard anybody be as condescending from that position – And abusive, for accusing somebody of doing something they weren't even doing.”
Further into the segment, Scarborough was interrupted by Brzezinski who began to mock the Spicer/Ryan situation. She yelled, “Stop shaking your head, Joe!,” and the rest of the panelist laughed and cheered on her Spicer parody. Brzezinski later suggested: “Sean Spicer leaving on day two would have said a lot and done a lot for this presidency. It would have been better than him staying there hanging on like a complete shill lying.” Barnicle quipped: “It’s not too late”
Brzezinski went on and pulled political analyst Mark Halperin into the conversation: “Mark Halperin the question I've been asking for the past two days with a smile on my face, and I just want a yes or no...Is Sean Spicer credible?” Halperin responded:
Not within the briefing room with a lot of people that cover him every day. And the thing is, some people use the White House podium to just get through the day, not make news, not get any advantage. He's become such a voice and such a face of the administration, they're not winning most news cycles. And in part it's because that briefing daily is setting them back rather than getting them going forward.
Scarborough added: “You know there's no reason why he had to do that with April Ryan. April asked a question. Ask the question, answer the question, move onto the next person...He takes a lot of simple questions and turns them into big fights.” Brzezinski replied: “If you look at what the job is, he's not serving the President or the people. He’s not doing the job.”
In another segment, Brzezinski brought up the Spicer clip by asking Associated Press correspondent Julie Pace: “Were you in the press briefing yesterday?” Pace answered: “I was unfortunately not there for yesterday's show...I watched it, though.” Scarborough chimed in: “You know where she was? She was home shaking her head.” After more laughter and what they thought was witty banter, Brzezinski and Scarborough introduced the clip. Brzezinski declared: “Here is what happened when Sean Spicer kind of -- kind of snapped on her. Take a look.” Scarborough: “He lost it.”
Following the clip, the same theatrics occurred. Brzezinski proclaimed: “Oh, my God – I can't get over it. Julie --” Scarborough professed: “No words for that. That's unbelievable.” Brzezinski went on to ask Pace her question of the week for the umpteenth time: “Julie, first of all, can you make sense of that, what happened there? And is Sean Spicer credible at this point?”
Pace, right on cue, answered: “Well, don't mess with April Ryan is my first piece of advice for press secretaries.” Brzezinski emphatically agreed saying,“Never”. Pace continued:
A lot of press secretaries have learned that lesson over time. Look, April was asking a really legitimate question. There's an FBI investigation into whether the Trump campaign was coordinating with Russians during the election. That's just a fact. James Comey said that publicly on Capitol Hill. So to dismiss out of hand reporters who are asking about that investigation or asking how the White House tries to move past that is a legitimate question. It's a little bit odd that Sean would try to undermine just that very premise. In terms of Sean's credibility, I think a lot of reporters who cover the White House would tell you Sean is helpful behind the scenes, that a lot of us have good relationships with him behind the scenes. I think any time you're in a White House, though, where the press briefing becomes the story, in part because things that are said from the podium turn out to later be not accurate or that the story has to keep changing from the podium, that's bad for the President. That is not a situation where White Houses are operating on their A game when the podium piece of it is the story. And that's where they find themselves a lot of days.
Scarborough inquired: “People do watch it because it's taken on its own sort of place, its own corner in American popular culture. Didn't it rate like a soap opera a couple of weeks ago? It is theater a lot of times what they say – It's not true. It's corrected the next day. You look at the Nunes stuff where he said well why in the world would he come over here to, you know, tell us something we already know. And now we find out that's exactly what he did.”
Brzezinski added: “Well, but that's unsustainable.” Scarborough retorted: “We say it's unsustainable. But how does Spicer -- again, you've been doing this a very long time -- How does Spicer keep doing his job with any credibility when events like that happen every day?” Halperin responded: “Well, as Julie said, you don't want the day to be driven by the briefing...Too often that briefing drives the story away from where the White House wants it to be.”
Brzezinski, redirecting the conversation back to Ryan: “And any slight shaking of the head came when he accused her of having an agenda.” NBC News correspondent Katy Tur answered: “She doesn't have an agenda she’s a reporter. And – Julie was saying, it's a completely valid question. How do you get past that perception? And the White House and Sean Spicer might not like that there's a perception out there. They might not agree with it because their job is – But there's a perception that there's something weird going on”
Scarborough asked: “Well that's the question that we have to end on. Is this about Sean Spicer or is this about Donald Trump? Is this about – I mean is this about the client who is Donald Trump or is this about the PR rep who is doing exactly what he is ordered to do, down to wearing dark suits?” Halperin answered: “Well you don't just go back to when the health care bill, the vote was pulled and the President made two calls to two news organizations he regularly disparages. He's never going to let anyone run his PR particularly when times are tough. And if there's an attempt to shift direction to come back, it's not going to be driven by anyone on the staff, it's going to be driven by the President.”
Scarborough reacted: “ I mean we all known Sean, known Sean for a long time, worked with him at the RNC. I like Sean a lot personally. I've always liked him a lot personally, he's been a straight shooter to me...Like the guy. Talked to him election morning...He's always been kind. He’s always been giving. This is not the Sean Spicer that we've known over the past 10 years or so...Not even close.” Halperin replied:
This White House has gotten in a couple months to where most White Houses get six months, nine months in. Which is they feel under siege. They feel under siege. They feel like they get only get negative coverage, they get harassed, and don't get credit for anything they do. And that always starts with any administration with the President who demands to know why am I not seeing more people on TV effectively defending me?
Brzezinski probing Halperin: “Okay so let's be fair, Mark Halperin, what have they done? If they don't get credit for anything they do, what have they done? What are we missing? What's the story?” Halperin answered: “Well they would like more credit for the Gorsuch nomination. I know that’s one they bring up with me all the time.” Brzezinski pushed further: “Anything else, Mark? Like any accomplishment that we're missing? Please.” Halperin answered:
They like their executive orders on regulation. That's another one they tout. But the bunker mentality they have, which they carried with them from the campaign is the fact of life over there. Again, it's driven first and foremost by the President who wants to know why am I being constantly attacked, why aren't people defending me? And it's very hard if you're Sean Spicer or anyone else to break that dynamic and say Mr. President, better to be sunny and optimistic and fight through this rather than just wallow in it but that's the dynamic.
Scarborough concluded the segment with this: “If you declare war against everybody, everybody is going to declare war back. It’s – you remember, I think that moment when he went to the New York Times and sat down and talked to them and started to try to build the relationship with the New York Times for one afternoon. And they, let's face it, they built friendships that lasted a lunch-time. But the lunch was over and then he went back to fighting them. If he had the discipline to sustain that, the press would still be tough, that's their job, but it wouldn't be constant.”
This is the exchange that took place on March 29:
MSNBC - Morning Joe
6AM
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: So one of the other questions we’re looking at, yesterday I was questioning Sean Spicer's credibility because I really think it's at risk, in jeopardy or shot. If you really think about it and go through kind of a time-line, now you might want to add questioning his stability. In yesterday's press brief– did you see him yesterday? He kind of snapped.
MIKE BARNACLE: Yeah
RICK TYLER: It sounded like mansplanning
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I think things are getting in his head which is really early for that to be happening. But then again, think about it. It happened when American Urban radio correspondent April Ryan questioned him over the administration's image. And I didn't really see her shaking her head.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: She wasn’t- She didn’t shake her head.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Did anyone see her shaking her head?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: That’s the thing she was looking down--
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: So what does shaking your head look like? Like this, right?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yes, like you do to me- -She was looking down at her paper.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There's two shots here going on. I never saw any head shaking. I don't know what's going on. Take a look.
APRIL RYAN: 2 1/2 months in, you've got this story today, you’ve got other things going on, you've got Russia, you’ve got wiretapping, you’ve got–
SEAN SPICER: No, we don't have that. You--
APRIL RYAN: There are investigation on Capitol Hill–
SEAN SPICER: No, no I get it. But you keep– I've said it from the day that I got here until whatever that there is no connection. You've got Russia. If the President puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection. But every–
APRIL RYAN: It’s beyond that.
SEAN SPICER: Well, no that’s– I appreciate your agenda here.
APRIL RYAN: This is not an agenda. This is going on–
SEAN SPICER: No but hold on. At some point report the facts. The facts are that every single person who has been briefed on that subject has come away with the same conclusion, Republican, Democrat s so I'm sorry that that disgusts you. You're shaking your head–
APRIL RYAN: I am shaking my head and I am listening and trying to–
SEAN SPICER: Okay but understand this, that at some point the facts are what they are.
APRIL RYAN: –(Inaudible) – negative name in 2006
SEAN SPICER: Hold on -- But April, hold on– It seems like you're hellbent on trying to make sure that whatever image you want to tell about this White House stays. Because at the end of the day–
APRIL RYAN: It was (inaudible) to call her that name. I am just reporting --
SEAN SPICER: But you know what you're asking me a question and I'm going to answer it. I'm sorry. Please stop shaking your head again.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Oh my God!
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: What is wrong with him?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Is he kidding me? What–– he wasn’t– Mike Barnicle, she wasn't shaking her head, first of all.
MIKE BARNACLE: No she was not
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Secondly–
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: She was trying to – understand– she was being treated incredibly disrespectfully
JOE SCARBOROUGH: How condescending can anybody be? Third, this is not a first grade class.
MIKE BARNACLE: Look it clearly–
JOE SCARBOROUGH: That was just simply beyond the pale.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Someone is in way over his head.
MIKE BARNACLE: Well– Yes. I mean, there's a part of me that has great sympathy for him because he's got an audience of one that he's dealing with, the president of the United States. The other thing is, he clearly does not have the temperament to be press secretary.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: No he doesn’t
MIKE BARNACLE: I mean Josh Earnest was in here the other day, he had the temperment to be press secretary.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: By the way, Mike Mccurry was there when hell was raining down from above. He stayed calm. Tony Snow was there during a really tough time for Bush. We remember Tony Snow. The thing is, you just don't have to be abusive, and in that situation, Steve Kornacki, I’ve never heard anybody be as condescending from that position –
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: And abusive
JOE SCARBOROUGH: And abusive, for accusing somebody of doing something they weren't even doing.
STEVE KORNACKI- Yeah, no, I kind of– I'm kind of where Mike is on it, too where I'm trying to imagine the sort of political professional, the communication specialist who could step into this role and meet the demands being placed on him or her by Donald Trump, by the boss, by the guy who we think is behind the scenes every day when these press conferences are going out and a reporter like April Ryan speaks up, and it's in your mind that Donald Trump is behind there judging you on, I guess, how tough you are, how forceful you are, those sorts of things. I don’t know who– I'm not saying he did himself, I'm not saying he did the White House any favors in that situation yesterday. I was–
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: No he didn't.
RICK TYLER: We need to automate the role–
STEVE KORNACKI: It's like you're sitting at a casino and you’re losing on the slot machine and you're getting mad at the machine– it's the guy who programmed the machine.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: And there’s- it’s very clear the problem here. The guy has absolutely no ability, none at all, none, to say Mr. President this is the wrong thing to do. He can't do it. He doesn't have the ability. It’s a sign of–
STEVE KORNACKI: Does anybody around Donald Trump have that ability?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Mika, Mika --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: And then he gets out there and he loses his you know what because he's absolutely tied up in his head because he has an inability to speak his mind.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Alright. Alrigh- yes, Sean Spicer should tell Donald Trump I'm not doing your bidding anymore if it means being abusive. But nobody around Donald Trump is telling him the truth.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I know.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Nobody.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: It would be nice if somebody tried.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: And we'll go back to the first day, and I won't reveal my sources, but the first day somebody tweeted pictures of the crowd sizes before Spicer's first --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Hostage video
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Press conference. I picked up the phone and I called somebody very high up at the White House and I said, I just want you to know --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: This is the dumbest thing.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: -- That this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life. And if on the President’s first night in the oval office you guys talk about crowd sizes, we're going to strip the bark off your tree for the next week, we're going to kill you.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: No but I mean, that right there shows that he is unmatched. Should have said no.
SCARBOROUGH: Well- Let me finish.
BRZEZINSKI: Sorry
SCARBOROUGH: Thank you.
BRZEZINSKI: Yes
SCARBOROUGH: The story will be a lot shorter–
BRZEZINSKI: Stop shaking your head, Joe.
SCARBOROUGH: If you'll just let me finish, the stories will be a lot shorter.
BRZEZINSKI: Continue.
SCARBOROUGH: Thank you. And so they said after it was over, I calle dup and said you just couldn't help yourself,. You all look like total idiots. I added a word in there.
BRZEZINSKI: Well frauds.
SCARBOROUGH: This person he said --, you should have seen how bad it was going to be. And after Sean finished his press conference that you're screaming at us about, he then went into the oval office and the President screamed at him for being too weak and then screamed at him for wearing a light suit.
BRZEZINSKI: And that’s when you say–
SCARBOROUGH: That's when you say, Mike, this job is just not for me.
MIKE BARNACLE: So but Joe, what you raise and what Steve just mentioned is who can go into the President of the United States, who can walk into the oval and say, Mr. President you’re wrong --
SCARBOROUGH: Nobody.
BARNACLE: Even if you had a Jim Baker walking into the office, you have to have someone who is receptive to hearing that kind of counsel, and I don't think, it appears that the President of the United States isn't receptive.
BRZEZINSKI: Well I don’t know– whether the Chicken or egg. Somebody has to actually give that kind of counsel. And if he's not receptive, great, leave. Sean Spicer leaving on day two would have said a lot and done a lot for this presidency. It would have been better than him staying there hanging on like a complete shill lying.
BARNACLE: It’s not too late
BRZEZINSKI: Mark Halperin, the question I've been asking for the past two days with a smile on my face, and I just want a yes or no.
SCARBOROUGH: No, no, not with a smile on your face.
BRZEZINSKI: Is Sean Spicer credible?
MARK HALPERIN: Not within the briefing room with a lot of people that cover him every day. And the thing is, some people use the White House podium to just get through the day, not make news, not get any advantage. He's become such a voice and such a face of the administration, they're not winning most news cycles. And in part it's because that briefing daily is setting them back rather than getting them going forward.
SCARBOROUGH: You know there's no reason why he had to do that with April Ryan. April asked a question. Ask the question, answer the question, move onto the next person.
BARNACLE: Temperament.
SCARBOROUGH: He takes a lot of simple questions and turns them into big fights. Now listen, he takes a lot of abuse day in and day out. But guess what? Read Marlon Fitswater’s book–
BERZEZINSKI: Don’t take it
SCARBOROUGH: Marlon Fitswater’s said, everyday you go– that's the press's job, whether it's George H.W. Bush -- you know, what about Carney? Carney was a loved guy at Time magazine. We loved him, we chatted on the show. He got behind that podium. It didn't take him long for him to be a total jerk.
BRZEZINSKI: If you look at what the job is–
SCARBOROUGH: I mean you just get it every day – you know, it is a tough, tough job.
BARNACLE: It might be time to rethink the job itself. I mean you have the virtual cream of the crop of network broadcasters, print people sitting in the White House press room, you get no news out of there. You know? Why not send in some younger people, interns to just record what the press secretary says. I mean- you're not going to– they’re not breaking any big stories in that White House press room. It’s not happening
BRZEZINSKI: It’s worse than that. And if you look at what the job is, he's not serving the President or the people. He’s not doing the job.
(...)
7AM
7:14:56 - 7:24:28
BRZEZINSKI: Julie, were you in the press briefing yesterday?JULIE PACE: I was unfortunately not there for yesterday's show.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh well then let me show you something!
JULIE PACE: I watched it, though.
SCARBOROUGH: You know where she was? She was home shaking her head.
BRZEZINSKI: Was she? Were you doing this? Because I don't think April Ryan was.
SCARBOROUGH: Neither was April, yeah.
BRZEZINSKI: Here is what happened when Sean Spicer kind of -- kind of snapped on her. Take a look.
SCARBOROUGH: He lost it.
APRIL RYAN: 2 1/2 months in, you've got this story today, you’ve got other things going on, you've got Russia, you’ve got wiretapping, you’ve got–
SEAN SPICER: No, we don't have that. You--
APRIL RYAN: There are investigation on Capitol Hill–
SEAN SPICER: No, no I get it. But you keep– I've said it from the day that I got here until whatever that there is no connection. You've got Russia. If the President puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection. But every–
APRIL RYAN: It’s beyond that.
SEAN SPICER: Well, no that’s– I appreciate your agenda here.
APRIL RYAN: This is not an agenda. This is going on–
SEAN SPICER: No but hold on. At some point report the facts. The facts are that every single person who has been briefed on that subject has come away with the same conclusion, Republican, Democrat s so I'm sorry that that disgusts you. You're shaking your head–
APRIL RYAN: I am shaking my head and I am listening and trying to–
SEAN SPICER: Okay but understand this, that at some point the facts are what they are.
APRIL RYAN: –(Inaudible) – negative name in 2006
SEAN SPICER: Hold on -- But April, hold on– It seems like you're hellbent on trying to make sure that whatever image you want to tell about this White House stays. Because at the end of the day–
APRIL RYAN: It was (inaudible) to call her that name. I am just reporting --
SEAN SPICER: But you know what you're asking me a question and I'm going to answer it. I'm sorry. Please stop shaking your head again.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh, my go– I can't get over it. Julie–
SCARBOROUGH: No words for that. That's unbelievable.
BRZEZINSKI: Look at her. Julie, first of all, can you make sense of that, what happened there? And is Sean spicer credible at this point?
JULIE PACE: Well, don't mess with April Ryan is my first piece of advice for press secretaries.
BRZEZINSKI: Never.
JULIE PACE: A lot of press secretaries have learned that lesson over time. Look, April was asking a really legitimate question. There's an FBI investigation into whether the Trump campaign was coordinating with Russians during the election. That's just a fact. James Comey said that publicly on capitol hill. So to dismiss out of hand reporters who are asking about that investigation or asking how the White House tries to– move past that is a legitimate question. It's a little bit odd that Sean would try to undermine just that very premise. In terms of Sean's credibility, I think a lot of reporters who cover the White House would tell you Sean is helpful behind the scenes, that a lot of us have good relationships with him behind the scenes. I think any time you're in a White House, though, where the press briefing becomes the story, in part because things that are said from the podium turn out to later be not accurate or that the story has to keep changing from the podium, that's bad for the President. That is not a situation where White Houses are operating on their A game when the podium piece of it is the story. And that's where they find themselves a lot of days.
SCARBOROUGH: Well and Mark Halperin, people do watch it because it's taken on its own sort of place, its own corner in American popular culture. Didn't it rate like a soap opera a couple of weeks ago?
BRZEZINSKI: Well why not? You don't know what's going to happen. He’s going to lose it.
SCARBOROUGH: It is theater a lot of times what they say– It's not true. It's corrected the next day. You look at the Nunes stuff where he said well why in the world would he come over here to - you know - tell us something we already know. And now we find out that's exactly what he did.
BRZEZINSKI: Well, but that's unsustainable.SCARBOROUGH: We say it's unsustainable. But – How does Spicer -- again, you've been doing this a very long time. How does Spicer keep doing his job with any credibility when events like that happen every day.
MARK HALPERIN: Well, as Julie said, you don't want the day to be driven by the briefing. At the same time, you mentioned Mike Mccurry before, and some of the other people who have been given high marks as press secretary. They used the briefing to try to drive the story of the day towards where the White House wants to be. Too often that briefing drives the story away from where the White House wants it to be. And at the same time there's no doubt that one of the biggest dangers to the President, is not that the press is skeptical because we'll always be skeptical of all Presidents of all parties, not that Democrats are hostile, it's this creeping sense among some Republicans that the lack of credibility on some issues is going to affect their ability to get anything done on something like tax reform where you need popularity and credibility if you’ve got any chance to do something that big.
BRZEZINSKI: And any slight shaking of the head came when he accused her of having an agenda.
KATY TUR: She doesn't have an agenda she’s a reporter. And – Julie was saying, it's a completely valid question. How do you get past that perception? And the White House and Sean Spicer might not like that there's a perception out there. They might not agree with it because their job is–
BRZEZINSKI: How can there not be one?!
KATY TUR: But there's a perception that there's something weird going on, at the very least there's an FBI investigation into the campaign. Let us remind everyone of all the Republicans and Donald Trump himself who said repeatedly in the run up to the election about how you can't vote for Hillary Clinton because she's under an FBI investigation. Well now we learned that his campaign was under an FBI investigation as well. So it's going -- there's a cloud -- that's a fact.
SCARBOROUGH: And the investigation, Steve, has nothing to do with salad dressing. When he tries to be that flip or that glib, he just seriously undercuts his credibility even more.
STEVE KORNACKI: No and it’s– it seems like the position that he's going to be spitting out every time this is raised, and it's not going to be going away by any measure any time soon, is absolutely nothing -- he’s just going to stick to that line. I think every time he does that, it's just going to invite ten more questions from the audience and that's only going to upset him and the whole thing is repeating himself.
BARNACLE: But remember he's playing to an audience of one.
BRZEZINSKI: Well that's the problem.
SCARBOROUGH: Well that's the question Mark Halperin thast we have to end on.
BRZEZINSKI: He has no spine.
SCARBOROUGH: Is this about Sean Spicer or is this about Donald Trump? Is this about– I mean is this about the client who is Donald Trump or is this about the PR rep who is doing exactly what he is ordered to do down to wearing dark suits.
MARK HALPERIN: Well you don't just go back to when the health care bill, the vote was pulled and the President made two calls to two news organizations he regularly disparages. He's never going to let anyone run his PR particularly when times are tough. And if there's an attempt to shift direction to come back, it's not going to be driven by anyone on the staff, it's going to be driven by the President.
SCARBOROUGH: So why does Sean– I mean we all known Sean, known Sean for a long time, worked with him at the RNC. I like Sean a lot personally. I've always liked him a lot personally, he's been a straight shooter to me.
BRZEZINSKI: Sweet guy.
SCARBOROUGH Like the guy. Talked to him election morning.
BRZEZINSKI: I remember that.
SCARBOROUGH: I mean I Spent a lot of time – and like Sean always. He's always been kind. He’s always been giving. This is not the Sean Spicer that we've known over the past 10 years or so.
MARK HALPERIN: This White House–
SCARBOROUGH: Not even close.
HALPERIN: This White House has gotten in a couple months to where most White Houses get six months, nine months in. Which is they feel under siege. They feelunder siege. They feel like they get only get negative coverage, they get harassed, and don't get credit for anything they do. And that always starts with any administration with the President who demands to know why am I not seeing more people on TV effectively defending me?
BRZEZINSKI: Okay so let's be fair, Mark Halperin, what have they done? If they don't get credit for anything they do, what have they done? What are we missing? What's the story?
HALPERIN: Well they would like more credit for the Gorsuch nomination. I know that’s one they bring up with me all the time.
TUR: Well then don't step on the news.
SCARBOROUGH: Exactly. Donald Trump has always stepped on good headlines.
BRZEZINSKI: Anything else, Mark? Like any accomplishment that we're missing? Please.
SCARBOROUGH: It's early.
BRZEZINSKI: No I'm serious.
HALPERIN: They like their executive orders on regulation. That's another one they tout. But the bunker mentality they have, which they carried with them from the campaign is the fact of life over there. Again, it's driven first and foremost by the President who wants to know why am I being constantly attacked, why aren't people defending me? And it's very hard if you're Sean spicer or anyone else to break that dynamic and say Mr. President, better to be sunny and optimistic and fight through this rather than just wallow in it but that's the dynamic.
SCARBOROUGH: It's very simple. If you attack the Intel agencies, they are going to attack you back, and they are going to win as we have said every day here for six months.
BRZEZINSKI: And that’s a big probelm. And they are going to bring you down.
SCARBOROUGH: If you call the press the enemy of the people, the press is going to push back. If you attack Paul Ryan and say I'll support you until I decide I'm not going to support you–
BRZEZINSKI: And then tease Jeanine Pirro and have her call for his resignation. Sorry but–
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, no, I'm just saying if you declare war against everybody, everybody is going to declare war back. It’s – you remember, I think that moment when he went to the New York Times and sat down and talked to them and started to try to build the relationship with the New York Times for one afternoon. And they, let's face it, they built friendships that lasted a lunch-time. But the lunch was over and then he went back to fighting them. If he had the discipline to sustain that, the press would still be tough, that's their job, but it wouldn't be constant.
