On Saturday's edition of MSNBC's The Weekend, the co-hosts did what they could do downplay and dump on the magnitude of Mike Johnson's first-ballot election as Speaker of the House, and on Trump's contribution to that victory.
But panelists Julie Tsirkin and Eugene Daniels showed some surprising independence.
Co-host Symone Sanders portrayed Trump's call to House holdouts as "slapdash." And co-host Michael Steele claimed Trump had to be persuaded to "come in off the back nine" to make the call.
But NBC News correspondent Tsirkin said that Trump actually made two calls, during which he made the case that Johnson was the only person who could garner the required 218 votes. Tsirkin described the Speaker vote as an "important test" for Trump. One that he obviously passed.
Later, when Tsirkin said that one thing Johnson has going for him is that both Republicans and Democrats like Johnson, Steele only grudgingly agreed: "I guess. To the extent it matters."
And then there was MSNBC analyst Eugene Daniels. When co-host Alicia Menendez asked what the holdouts got in return for their votes, Daniels replied that, in contrast with Kevin McCarthy, Johnson made no deals, and all the holdouts got was Trump "pushing them to do their job."
Daniels described Johnson and Trump's ability to corral the Republican caucus as "impressive." But Sanders sought to belittle that, claiming that some of the holdouts said their decision to ultimately support Johnson wasn't due to Trump's intervention.
At the end of the segment Steele again downplayed the achievement, mockingly hailing [see screencap] Johnson's victory, sarcastically saying "They gave him a gavel! He got a gavel," while claiming that the real work will be done in the Senate.
Of course, if Nancy Pelosi had ever pulled off a comparable feat, the hosts would be gushing over her triumph, describing her as a master of four-dimensional chess!
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
The Weekend
1/4/25
8:01 am ETSYMONE SANDERS: After a dramatic first vote and lengthy backroom discussions, Mike Johnson narrowly held onto the Speaker's gavel. Johnson's effort to win on the first ballot seemed sunk after Republicans Thomas Massie, Ralph Norman, and Keith Self initially voted against him.
But Self and Norman changed their votes roughly 20 minutes after a slapdash call with Donald Trump, who interrupted his golf game to urge the conference to, quote, get united.
. . .
The machinations of trying to win this on the first ballot for Mike Johnson, which was the goal from the very beginning, and holding the vote open for two hours and trying to work the machinations. Getting Trump to get off the back nine for just a moment to deal with his party.
. . .
JULIE TSIRKIN: Yesterday was really an important test for Trump, for Republicans here. And I'll tell you, he placed not one phone call during his golf game, but two. The second of which was actually on speakerphone, I'm told, with Mike Johnson sitting at the table and the holdout sitting at the table, and Trump basically telling them, Mike's the only one who can get to 218, so let's just make this happen.
And it was really important for Trump, I'm told, not to let this get into the second ballot or third ballot. It was important for him to get this done the first time around. Obviously, Republicans remember, and are scarred, have PTSD, as do I, of witnessing it, of that 15-round vote for Kevin McCarthy.
. . .
ALICIA MENENDEZ: So there was a big list of demands. I'm sure you saw the letter from the Freedom Caucus, Eugene. Among them, permanent border reforms without amnesty or immigration expansion, cut rampant inflationary spending to guarantee deficit reduction. There was also just some stuff in there about, like, how many days a week they want to work. and the functionality of the House.
What did Norman, what did Self, get in exchange for this vote?
EUGENE DANIELS: You know what's really interesting, is Mike Johnson said he didn't want to make any deals to become Speaker. And it seems like he didn't make any actual deals, right? We don't have any indication that he told people that they would get this or that. That's something that Kevin McCarthy did and ended up biting him at the end of the day.
And so what he, what they got is Donald Trump kind of pushing them to do their job. And it is gonna, it looked like it was, like you said, two hours is a very long time. People running around, it doesn't look good. We thought it was gonna have to go to second, maybe even a third ballot.
But it was impressive, right? He was able to corral everybody around.
. . .
SANDERS: In the aftermath, while Mike Johnson said Donald Trump helped him get this vote over the finish line and lock in these Members, the Members who were holdouts, many of them said it wasn't Trump. I knew where Trump was. This was about me.
. . .
TSIRKIN: And it's going to be extremely messy for Johnson. I will say, though, one thing he's got going for him that Kevin McCarthy did not, is that everyone actually likes Mike Johnson, Democrats and Republicans alike.
STEELE: Yeah, I think that's an important part of it to a certain extent, Eugene. You've got to like the guy who's in charge, I guess. To the extent it matters.
. . .
Everybody's focused on Mike Johnson: Yay! Johnson got it. He gave him a gavel! He got a gavel, right?
But the reality of it is, the work is going to be in the other chamber.