Mika to John Heilemann: ‘I Was Going to Ask You to Shut Up But That Was a Good Point’

Heilemann: “Right, and — nad this is kind of gets to the point, which is that the Justice Department typically has been a quasi-independent agency. It’s not really supposed to — the attorney general and the president aren’t really supposed to be talking all the time. The number of meetings between Merrick Garland and Joe Biden in the last four years would be zero.”
BRZEZINSKI: “OK.”
SCARBOROUGH: “Post Watergate.”
Heilemann: “But here’s — but here is — but here is the question, though, the thing I want to say though, I really think that the one thing we’re all talking about the Senate, will the Senate — will one of these people not get confirmed, will more than one of those bad, of the biggest four, of the four most controversial picks? I — I just got to say, like, does anybody on this table — can anybody cite examples in the past during Trump’s first term or any other time when Republican senators have defied Donald Trump? Is there an example anyone can cite where Republican senators on any basis have ever stood up to Donald Trump on anything he’s really wanted? I don’t think Trump is going to back down on any of these nominations. I think what Dasha reported is the tone, which is Trump thinks that to back down, to withdraw, to listen to ‘The Wall Street Journal’ would just be weakness. He is — this is about trying to break the Senate.”
BRZEZINSKI: “Yeah.”
Heilemann: “He is trying to make the Senate explicitly his rubber stamp going forward and —“
BRZEZINSKI: “Yes.”
Heilemann: “— demean and diminish the legislative Branch.”
BRZEZINSKI: “I was —“
Heilemann: “He wants to strip them of advice and consent. He wants them to be his Duma. And that is — and so I think he’s going to push it as hard — and we’ll see whether any senators — but there’s — stand up to him, but there’s no history of it.”
BRZEZINSKI: “It’s a great question.”
Heilemann: “There’s not a precedent for it.”
BRZEZINSKI: “I was going to ask you to shut up, but actually that was a very good point.”
Heilemann: “Thank you.”
SCARBOROUGH: “Wow. She’s so rude.”
Heilemann: “Yeah.”
BARNICLE: “Yes.”
BRZEZINSKI: “And to button this up, the deputy attorney general pick —“
Heilemann: “Yeah.”
BRZEZINSKI: “— is Donald Trump’s personal attorney. So —“
Heilemann: “Yes.”
BRZEZINSKI: “— it’s just — it’s not — it’s not so clear cut.”
Heilemann: “Well, I am — I am —“
BRZEZINSKI: “It seems a little —“
Heilemann: “Well, yeah.”
BRZEZINSKI: “— concerning on a number of levels, but we shall see.”
Heilemann: “I’m not trying to say it’s not concerning.”
BRZEZINSKI: “Still ahead on ‘Morning Joe.’”