Mika Brzezinski Interrupts Sam Stein With Audible Sigh after He Floats Kamala Harris Replacing Biden

Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski stopped guest panelist Sam Stein in his tracks Tuesday morning with an audible sigh of annoyance as he floated the idea that Vice President Kamala Harris may be a viable candidate switch with President Joe Biden.

Stein, Deputy Managing Editor for Politics at Politico — and a frequent Morning Joe contributor — was pitching a potential Harris candidacy as a middle-ground solution for Biden-loyal Democrats when the host’s emission stopped him mid-sentence, as he noted: “We got a big sigh there, on air.”

The moment on MSNBC came one day after Brzezinski’s 15-minute long show opening monologue on Monday, in which she threw her support firmly behind Biden and made her case for his viability. On Tuesday, however, amid a forum of panelists willing to examine the more nuanced challenges to Biden’s candidacy, the host showed little patience.

Brzezinski spoke first with former diplomat Richard Haass, who published an article warning the world to prepare for a Trump administration given Biden’s debate performance.

As Haass laid out his case, Brzezinski launched into an attack on former President Donald Trump’s character by comparison to Biden, prompting the former diplomat to apologetically cut in to finish his point. Haass concluded: “The real question for us to ask is how does Joe Biden honor [his] obligation now? Is by running again is that putting self before country and his party?”

Pivoting to Stein, the host said: “Okay. So then we go, Sam Stein, let’s take Richard’s concept, which I completely disagree with. Let’s hash it out. Like, exactly then, what happens? Do we go with someone completely untested? Completely inexperienced because they seem cool? Because they’re younger? Because they have less experience? Like, what does that look like?”

Having framed her questions, in case there was further doubt about her take on the situation, Brzezinski repeated her own position with a shot at Haas: “I’m just not willing to walk away from someone who has worked this hard and has performed this well and gotten this much done on every level – more than any president before him, including the ones Richard Haass worked for.”

Stein replied: “Well, there is sort of a semi-middle ground here, right? Kamala Harris. She’s been vetted. She’s the vice president. She would inherit the campaign infrastructure. She’d inherit the money, whereas anyone else in this hypothetical universe could not. She would be the logical person to take on the mantle. On top of that, she has some experience debating Republicans at this level, including making the case against Donald Trump, right? That would be the logical extension here. I agree with you, the other ones, they’re untested.

Brzezinski exhaled loudly as the guest noted: “A big sigh there on air.”

He continued: “A lot of the other ones are untested, and that would be problematic in its own rights. Look, I think this ultimately comes back to Biden. Richard’s point is valid which is Joe Biden is the one who set the standard himself, right? Every time there were questions about his age and vitality, his response was: ‘Watch me’ – right? That was his response. We watched him on Thursday night, and I think we around the table agree he did not pass the test that he set for himself.”

In closing the segment, co-host Willie Geist managed to ease some of the tension caused by Brzezinski as he signed the panel off: “And Sam Stein, drawing sighs from the group for his commentary as usual. Sam, we love you buddy.”

“What was that about?” Stein laughed with the other guests.

Brzezinski added: “That was me. That was all me.”

Watch on MSNBC.