MSNBC's Morning Joe opened Friday's show with a juvenille montage of news and entertainment highlights.The one minute-and-fifty-four-second mix-up reel began with a reporter asking White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer whether or not President Donald Trump still stands by his accusation his predecessor ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
"I think the president's tweets speak for themselves," Spicer responded, prompting a response from the personal injury lawyer Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington, in the 1993 film Philadelphia: "Alright. Explain this to me like I'm a 2-year-old. There is an element of this thing I cannot get through my thick head."
A highlight of one of the jurrors in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men, based on the 1989 Broadway play, accompanied a clip of Thursday's White House press conference where Spicer said the President won't retract his wiretapping accusation against his predecessor. "As I mentioned to Jim, it’s not that he’s walking anything back or regretting," he said. The Colonel Jessup character, played by Jack Nicholson, responds, "Are we clear?"
In the clip mix-up, the famous duck from the Aflac commercial reacted in response to Trump, who said in an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson aired on Wednesday, "When I say 'wiretap,' those words were in quotes."
Subsequently, another clip of Spicer's breifing Thursday flashed onto the screen: "If you look at the President’s tweet he said very clearly, quote, wiretapping." This was followed up by a highlight of MSNBC's interview Thursday with Democratic Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, who mocked Trump and said, "What you have is a press secretary going air quotes, air quotes." Looks like it was too much for Friends' Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) to handle. "I'm sorry," Tribbiani said.
Other cameo appearences in the juvenille highlight reel, which also featured highlights from this week's House Intelligence Committee press conference to announce Obama did not order wiretapping of Trump tower, included: clips of Paul Newman in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, who said "What we’ve got here is failure to communicate"; and Seinfeld's George Costanza (Jason Alexander), who said, "Just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it."
Morning Joe co-host Mika Brezinski looked delighted and remarked, "That’s it. Seinfeld right there. When you lose the Intel Committee, you’ve lost the fight. But not for this White House, which is tripling down on the president's executive tweet storm. This, as his own party faces a tough climb on the health care and the budget."
Here is the transcript of the March 17th montage:
Morning Joe
03/17/2017
6:00:32 AM – 6:02:32 AM [2 min., 0 sec.]
[ROLL NEWS CLIP]
REPORTER: Does the President believe that former president Barack Obama committed a felony?
SEAN SPICER: I think the president's tweets speak for themselves.
[ROLL MOVIE CLIP FROM PHILADELPHIA]
DENZEL WASHINGTON: Alright. Explain this to me like I'm a 2-year-old. There is an element of this thing I cannot get through my thick head.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF MARCH 16th WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING]
SPICER: As I mentioned to Jim, it’s not that he’s walking anything back or regretting.
[ROLL MOVIE CLIP FROM A FEW GOOD MEN]
JACK NICHOLSON: Are we clear?
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF TRUMP INTERVIEW WITH TUCKER CARLSON]
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When I say “wiretap,” those words were in quotes.
[ROLL CLIP OF AFLAC COMMERCIAL]
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF MARCH 16th WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING]
SPICER: If you look at the President’s tweet he said very clearly, quote, wiretapping.
[ROLL CLIP OF MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK LEAHY]
PATRICK LEAHY: What you have is a press secretary going air quotes, air quotes.
[ROLL CLIP FROM FRIENDS]
MATT LEBLANC: I’m sorry.
[ROLL MOVIE CLIP FROM COOL HAND LUKE]
PAUL NEWMAN: What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PRESS CONFERENCE]
DEVIN NUNES: The President is a neophyte to politics.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF FEBRUARY 16th PRESS CONFERENCE]
TRUMP: I can’t believe that I’m saying that I’m a politician. That’s what I am now.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PRESS CONFERENCE]
NUNES: A lot of things that he says, you guys, sometimes, take literally.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF TRUMP INTERVIEW WITH TUCKER CARLSON]
TRUMP: There was an article. I think they used that exact term.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PRESS CONFERENCE]
NUNES: He doesn't have 27 lawyers and staff looking at what he does.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF TRUMP INTERVIEW WITH TUCKER CARLSON]
TRUMP: We’ll be submitting things before the committee very soon.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PRESS CONFERENCE]
NUNES: Are you going to take the tweets literally and, if you are, then, clearly, the president was wrong.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF MARCH 14th WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING]
SPICER: He feels very confident that we will ultimately come of this will vindicate him.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PRESS CONFERENCE]
NUNES: The people we talk to doesn't think there was actual tap of trump tower.
[ROLL HIGHLIGHT OF MARCH 16th WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING]
JONATHAN KARL: So you think he’s still going to be vindicated?
SPICER: I believe he will.
[ROLL CLIP FROM SEINFELD]
JASON ALEXANDER: Just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.
MIKA BREZINSKI: That’s it. Seinfeld right there. When you lose the Intel Committee, you’ve lost the fight. But not for this White House, which is tripling down on the president's executive tweet storm. This, as his own party faces a tough climb on the health care and the budget.
