Video

Donald Trump's attempt on Tuesday to defend releasing violent felons who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6 ended up turning into him claiming he supports the badge because he will be pardoning two police officers he claims have been unjustly prosecuted.

That led MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezsinki and Willie Geist to dismantle his comments as a complete fabrication.

Donald Trump sparked outrage by issuing sweeping pardons of all the Jan. 6 rioters, but a legal analyst speculated that the president could warp that authority beyond recognition.

Shortly after returning to office, the newly inaugurated president pardoned the insurrectionists, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who said after his release from a 22-year prison term on convictions for seditious conspiracy and other charges that the prosecutors who brought those cases should be prosecuted themselves.

Any question over how Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will assert his independence from Donald Trump was put to rest on Tuesday when he fled into an elevator to avoid questions about the president's pardon of violent Jan. 6 criminals and offered a glib final response.

That was the opinion of members of an MSNBC panel on Wednesday morning, with two commentators calling his final answer "revealing."

Donald Trump's feud with a clergywoman who criticized him to his face is just the first of many disputes that will "exhaust Americans," according to a conservative commentator.

The Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, begged for mercy over communities who would likely be impacted by Trump's policies, such as immigrants and LGBTQ people, and the president lashed out at her afterward in a late-night Truth Social post, saying she was "nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart," and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson urged him to pace himself.

A Democratic lawmaker shredded Donald Trump's claims that he is a "friend to police more than any president that's ever been in this office."

The president was asked whether his sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 rioters – including individuals convicted of violently assaulting police officers – sent a message that undermines law and order, and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) dismantled Trump's denials and insisted that Republicans should take accountability for the party's undisputed leader's actions.

Shouting broke out Tuesday night on CNN over a heated discussion over recent presidential pardons and commutations, including violent offenders found guilty of attacking police officers on Jan. 6.

On Tuesday, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police issued a rare joint statement slamming recent pardons from President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden. Trump pardoned about 1,500 people in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including more than 600 charged with assaulting, resisting, or obstructing police officers.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday used a well-known expression against Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) after he repeatedly dodged persistent questions with his own balancing act comparisons.

The tense on-air moment came during Mullin’s appearance on “OutFront” a day after President Donald Trump stirred Capitol Hill by issuing blanket pardons to Jan. 6 attackers, including some of the most violent offenders.

A Republican congressman’s refusal to directly reveal whether he supports President Donald Trump’s blanket pardons of Jan. 6 attackers – including some of the most violent offenders – didn’t sit well with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night.

During a segment on his show “The Situation Room,” Blitzer delivered a forceful pushback against Rep. John James (R-MI), who tried sidestepping the longtime anchor’s line of questioning more than once, resulting in a tense confrontation between the two.

Longtime Republican pollster Sarah Longwell told MSNBC that she's watched as the Republican party grew more willing to compromise their principles, rendering them entirely "impotent."

"Deadline: White House" host Nicolle Wallace began her show on Tuesday by showing a clip of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) demanding that Jan. 6 defendants who violently attacked police officers should be punished. Not only has Cruz backed off such a demand, but President Donald Trump gave those who attacked police a pardon or commutation.

An angry Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) showed up at the D.C. Central Detention Facility (D.C. Jail) on Tuesday to offer guided tours of the U.S. Capitol to Jan. 6 rioters who President Donald Trump pardoned.

In an impromptu news conference, Boebert demanded a quick release of "the January 6th hostages."

CNN anchor Jake Tapper smacked down President Donald Trump over his massive pardoning spree of Jan. 6 rioters on his first day in office.

In particular, Tapper aimed at Trump's comments to reporters, where he said, "These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon. Yes. Full pardon. We have about six commutations in there."

President Donald Trump told reporters he wasn't wild about the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday in which Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde begged for mercy for those "scared" about life under Trump.

Upon returning to the Oval Office, reporters asked him about the service, the pool report said, according to Huffington Post reporter Jen Bendery.

Former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele warned that expected cuts coming from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will harm MAGA areas more than Democratic cities.

Although Congress has not officially created Elon Musk's largely symbolic department, he is pursuing his promise of $2 trillion in government cuts.