Allies of Joe Biden who want to get inside the presidentâs head can do so, at least to some extent, with less than an hour each morning and a subscription to basic cable, apparently.
Presumably, so can enemies of the president â or of his country.
According to Axios, âmostâ of Bidenâs âtop aidesâ pay attention to MSNBCâs âMorning Joeâ because it helps them âanticipate potential questions from him.â
The relationship between Biden and the supposed journalists on MSNBC makes any claim by the network to be unbiased highly suspect. (In fairness to MSNBC, the network doesnât seem to make that claim very much.)
Members of the Biden administration who appear on the program generally do so between 7:00 and 7:40 a.m., which is apparently when their boss can be counted on to be tuned in.
But the partnership between the show and the administration goes much deeper than the presidentâs viewership, according to Axios.
According to unnamed âpeople familiar with the relationshipâ cited by the outlet, Biden âoftenâ talks to infamously anti-Trump co-host Joe Scarborough about policy issues.
Heâs also consulted âwidelyâ with regular contributors to the show, including retired Adm. James Stavridis, who often appears on âMorning Joeâ to discuss national security.
In fact, in the early days of the Biden administration, when Scarboroughâs co-host (and wife) Mika Brzezinski wanted to interview Vice President Kamala Harris, it was Bidenâs team that convinced Harris to do it.
âThe West Wing stepped in and insisted she do it because of how important that relationship is for them,â a former Harris aide told Axios.
Apparently, Harrisâ aides felt that interview went well, as the vice president and her husband, Doug Emhoff, had Brzezinski and Scarborough to dinner in January at the official vice presidential residence.
The same month, Brzezinsky interviewed first lady Jill Biden. (Scarborough had already interviewed Biden himself last year.)
An MSNBC spokesperson declined on behalf of the two co-hosts to comment for Axiosâ report.
There are, of course, other cable news programs Biden watches. Axios suggested that his second favorite after âMorning Joeâ was most likely âFareed Zakaria GPS,â which appears weekly on CNN.
How much influence the administration has over MSNBCâs coverage of Biden is debatable, but thereâs no question that the network influences the administration.
Biden has consulted with foreign policy expert Richard Haass, who regularly appears on âMorning Joe,â and some of the presidentâs aides have âbristledâ at Haassâ criticisms of White House policies.
âAides say Biden respects these voices on cable TV, and loves when they applaud his actions,â Axios reported.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
