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'Increased unhappiness' at Mar-a-Lago with Mike Johnson as GOP remains 'traumatized'

The Republican-controlled House may be headed for more chaos when it comes to voting on a speaker with no GOP alternatives to current Speaker Mike Johnson and Donald Trump's patience with the Louisiana lawmaker waning.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," one former Republican member of the House claimed his party has no credible replacement for Johnson which may save his job, but there is also the Trump factor.

"I'll tell you, the best thing he has going for him is that there is no credible alternative," ex-Rep Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) stated. "The men who would be in position to challenge Johnson, [Reps.] Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, Tom Emmer, these are men who tried to ascend to the speakership and failed just a few months ago –– so Johnson has that going for him. "

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"The reason he got elected is because he really had no strong enemies inside the House Republican Conference and even though some people like [Kentucky Republican] Thomas Massie are upset, they really don't have any where to go," he continued. "So I do think that that, combined with the fact that Republicans are still traumatized from all their speaker drama during this Congress bodes well for Johnson and I think he's very likely to stay in his position if he decides to stand for re-election as speaker, which everything indicates he will."

That led "Morning Joe" host Jonathan Lemire to interject, "People I've talked to in Trump's orbit down in Mar-a-Lago say there is increased unhappiness from the president-elect toward Speaker Johnson, though. We'll see if he really tries to push for his ouster."

Watch below or at the link.

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'A horrible decision': Ramaswamy pounced on by ex-college classmate for 'culture' rant

Sports podcaster Pablo Torre pulled double-duty on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday morning first commenting on Netflix broadcasting NFL games on Christmas day and then being asked about a recent social media post made by Donald Trump advisor Vivek Ramaswamy which has caused a MAGA blow-up.

As "Morning Joe" co-host Johnathan Lemire pointed out, Torre and Ramaswamy were classmates at Harvard University where both graduated with honors and were members of Phi Beta Kappa.

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Sources explain 'Trump's fixation' on Panama and Greenland: CNN reporter

Donald Trump has been threatening to take over sovereign territories and reclaim control of the Panama Canal, and sources revealed the motives for his bluster.

The president-elect has been fascinated with buying Greenland since his first term in the White House, although the autonomous Danish territory isn't for sale, in addition to apparent jokes about making Canada a state and taking back control over the crucial canal, and CNN's Alayna Treene spoke to advisers to learn what's behind his threats.

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'Prickly': MSNBC panel shoots down 'thin-skinned' Marianne Williamson's DNC chair bid

Reacting to an announcement by Marianne Williamson that she now wants to run the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a failed run for Congress and two attempts to be the party's presidential nominee, not one panelist on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" gave her a chance of success.

After Christmas, the author and speaker announced her intention to run for the leadership spot, saying in a video posted online, "I feel that I can bring a level of expertise to the process of lifting up this possibility of victory over the next two and four years in a way that will not occur if we are only looking traditional means of politicking in order to make that happen.”

After watching a clip of her announcement, MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend expressed skepticism and asked, "I was wondering, who keeps telling Marianne Williamson to run for all these different positions. She ran for president, now DNC chair, maybe Senate, I don't know, next cycle. It is very interesting to me. I don't know if Marianne Williamson is what the majority of DNC members will be looking for."

ALSO READ: Trump is already walking back on his promises

Politico's Sam Stein added, "I did actually chronicle some of her candidacies; her campaigns were disastrous internally, a lot of infighting, very poor money management. That's not what the party is going to want, not what the party needs."

"The third thing is just an understanding of how to handle this modern media ecosystem and the real debate happening now in the Democratic Party is where do you put your message and who are your messengers and can you build a media infrastructure on your own or do you need to push forward with the existing system and try to go on to conservative alt media and podcasts and things like that," he continued. "These are three big questions that face the next DNC chair. I don't think Marianne Williamson is going to have the answers that most of the party members want, but I'm curious to see how they treat her candidacy."

According to MSNBC regular Katty Kay, there are also questions about Williamson's demeanor when questioned.

"I interviewed her too," she pointed out. "She's pretty thin-skinned and when you challenge her about stories of staff being unhappy with her leadership, you don't get very far. She's pretty prickly about it –– I don't think that's what the DNC chair needs to be right now."

Watch below or at the link right here.

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MAGA coalition already splitting as 'preexisting tensions' burst into view: analysis

An online clash broke out between some of Donald Trump's most fervent supporters over an immigrant program long used by Silicon Valley tech companies, and a pair of analysts explained how "preexisting tensions" could make the MAGA coalition untenable.

Trump named Indian-born tech entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as his senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence, and far-right activist Laura Loomer complained that his support for removing some caps on visas for skilled foreign workers would be “in direct opposition” to the president-elect's agenda – but Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and other business allies defended H-1B visas as necessary.

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'No evidence': Washington Post columnist fact checks Republican on CNN

A discussion revolving around Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent comments that America’s culture problem has resulted in tech companies hiring more people from India and China created an on-air dust-up between a Washington Post columnist and a Republican who opposes the tech entrepreneur’s view.

The moment came Thursday on CNN’s “The Source” when Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell slammed conservative commentator Shermichael Singleton for saying the country – and particularly the incoming Trump administration – should focus on “domestic skill development.”

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Ex-ICE director: Trump's new family detention centers like 'really nice summer camp'

Ron Vitiello, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claimed President-elect Donald Trump's proposed internment centers for immigrant families would be like a "really nice summer camp."

The Washington Post noted Thursday that Trump border czar Tom Homan intended to once again hold undocumented immigrant families with children in "soft-sided" tent structures.

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GOP lawmakers ready to buck Trump after telling him to 'take a flying leap': NBC reporter

Reacting to a flurry of Donald Trump Truth Social attacks launched on Christmas day, MSNBC host Chris Jansing asked her panel how Republican lawmakers plan to deal with four more years of erratic proclamations from president-elect.

Speaking to NBC political correspondent Jonathan Allen, she asked, "Jonathan, look, he's not even president yet, obviously he is the president-elect. But if you're a member of the U.S. Senate and you just got re-elected to a six-year term and he's going to be gone in four years, I mean, do you think that there's any doubt that we're going to have these situations where Donald Trump wants something and it's either going to be fish or cut bait?"

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Fox News pundit slams Trump buying Greenland as 'ramblings' for 'media attention'

Fox News pundit Jonathan Kott argued that President-elect Donald Trump's push to take over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal were just "ramblings" of "things he's seen online."

During a Thursday panel on Fox News, Kott responded to an anonymous lobbyist who claimed Democrats were ready for Biden to leave office.

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'That is very different': CNN host fact-checks conservative's Panama claims

CNN's Sara Sidner fact-checked a conservative panelist's claims about China and the Panama Canal.

Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the canal, claiming that China had too much influence over the critical waterway, and conservative commentator Shermichael Singleton argued that Trump was right.

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'Shocking development': New York Times reporter reveals what is driving huge sales numbers

Consumers set a massive record in holiday sales as people finally began to feel the pressure of inflation ease, New York Times business and policy reporter Lauren Hirsch told MSNBC's Jessica Layton on Thursday.

This follows a number of other reports from retailers showing healthy sales — and not just the traditionally solid online stores, they noted, but, in a more surprising twist, brick and mortar department store chains that have been bleeding market share for years.

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'Preposterous': Democrat pours cold water on Trump's latest 'carnival barker' threats

A Democratic congresswoman tried to make sense of Donald Trump's recent threats over the Panama Canal.

The president-elect has threatened to have the U.S. retake control of the canal, claiming that Panama charges too much for using the waterway and warning that China has too much influence over the region, but Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) told CNN that Trump's comments were nonsense.

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'None of this makes any sense': CNN guest stumped by new wave of Trump attacks

During an appearance on CNN the morning after Christmas Day, a Democratic strategist was unable to pinpoint a reason why Donald Trump has unleashed a new wave of attacks on countries never mentioned during the 20204 presidential campaign.

Less than 24 hours after the president-elect went on a rage-bender on Truth Social, lashing out at Canada, Panama and Greenland, CNN host Sara Sidner began, "We don't recall Donald Trump campaigning to invade Panama and retake its famous canal. But there was the president-elect on the weekend threatening our Central American ally with punishment if it doesn't meet his demands."

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