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Guess we shouldn't be surprised, coming from ex-Republican Steve Schmidt, who now calls the Democrats "the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies." Appearing this afternoon on MSNBC's Deadline: White House program hosted by Nicolle Wallace -- his sidekick on the McCain presidential campaign -- Steve Schmidt broke out the tired liberal claim that Republicans somehow resemble the villains of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' The show has been described as portraying "a dystopian future . . . wherein a totalitarian...

Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline,” former campaign strategist for George W. Bush and the late John McCain’s 2008 fail presidential campaign Steve Schmidt said in the midterm elections, Republican lawmakers were in a “lose-lose” situation concerning President Donald Trump’s nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Schmidt said “They’re in a lose-lose situation now. You would see a demoralized base. It would be a major defeat for the president. He will be seen to have backed down. The base will be angry. It will be enraged at Republican Senators who they think will have betrayed the president. But also if they force it through...

Rick Wilson is a long-time Republican strategist and the architect of all manner of knives-out campaign ads, including one particularly vicious spot from the 2008 presidential campaign that hammered Barack Obama’s connection to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright with the tag: “Barack Obama: Too Radical, Too Risky.” He helped start the Never Trump movement. It cost him friends and all manner of potential political work. It subjected him to the threats and fury of Trump’s troll army. He was labelled a Rino (Republican in name only) and a party traitor. And he didn’t care. Right is right, and Trump was clearly,...

First lady Melania Trump is “a con artist,” a former GOP strategist and critic of President Donald Trump claimed. “Shhhhh. Don’t tell anyone. She’s a con artist also. All of them are. It goes with the last name," Steve Schmidt, who worked in the George W. Bush White House and ran Senator John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008, tweeted about Melania Trump. Schmidt, who recently quit the Republican Party over the administration's policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, was responding to Matthew Miller, an MSNBC justice and security analyst, who in his tweet, said, “This entire schtick is...

Former GOP presidential campaign manager Steve Schmidt said Wednesday that "Democrats should dig in hard" and "do everything they conceivably can do to block" President Trump's Supreme Court nomination. "And for the fabric of our democracy, Democrats should dig in hard here and do everything they conceivably can do to block this nomination, any nomination from going forward until after we see what happens in the midterm election," Schmidt said in a phone interview on MSNBC, where he serves as a political analyst. Schmidt, who previously worked for Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign, has been one of Trump's harshest...

MSNBC’s Steve Schmidt––who recently left the Republican party––decried the Supreme Court decision upholding President Trump‘s travel ban. Nicolle Wallace talked with her panel about the SCOTUS decision, looking back at how we got from the originally-proposed Muslim ban to here. She said, “I remember people in the intelligence community saying to me, ‘Who do you think we rely on the most in the countries that could represent the greatest geopolitical threats from us?'” Former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi said that today “we became a little bit less of that shining city on a hill” into a country...

In 2015, Sen. John McCain introduced a resolution to implement President Donald Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy to charge every migrant caught entering the country illegally. McCain’s legislation did not give any exemption for children and would have created the exact, same mess we’re in today:

Republican strategist and campaign veteran Steve Schmidt, who two days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election told then-candidate Donald Trump to prepare a concession speech, said Monday night that the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is an attempt to "stave off a disastrous midterm election" through incitement of his base. Schmidt called Trump ignorant and said, "there will be blood on his hands" for destabilizing the Middle East.

Republican strategist Steve Schmidt tore into Donald Trump while appearing on MSNBC today — calling the president an “imbecile” for his trade wars and adding that he has “no idea what he’s talking about.” As news circulated this morning that the stock market dropped dramatically after China responded to Trump’s tariffs with trade restrictions of their own, the president denied that there is a “trade war” happening, despite all evidence pointing to the opposite being true. Schmidt noted this while discussing the issue with a fired-up Stephanie Ruhle this morning:

Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) former presidential campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, said early Thursday that President Trump was "clearly slurring his words" during an announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, adding that "the impairment is chilling."

Steve Schmidt has finally found his natural home: Joy Reid’s MSNBC show. Appearing there this morning, Schmidt first described President Trump as someone who “degrades his office, who divides the American people.” Schmidt then said: “I think there is one question on the ballot in November of 2018. And it’s: do you want to put a check on President Donald Trump? And I think the answer to that question, in the overwhelming majority of the American people is ‘yes.'” Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Right now, the fate of the country lies in the hands of "classic" or "throwback" Republicans. The Grand Old Party currently controls all three branches of government, but its "big tent" happens to include a lunatic fringe of "low information voters" and bigots that delivered the presidency to Donald Trump. It's now up to the sane Republicans to try and wrestle power away from this subset, before the drive the entire country, and perhaps the world over the cliff. You already know how low Trump's approval numbers are, and you have heard him ripped to shreds already by the left,...

Shortly before the presidential election, GOP public relations worker Steve Schmidt saw Hillary Clinton “trending over 400” electoral college votes. He also predicted that Dems would retake the Senate and were “close” to retaking the House. We know how all that played out. So you probably want to take this morning’s comments from the man who brought you John McCain’s 2008 campaign with a gargantuan grain of salt. Asked on Morning Joe what he would tell President Trump regarding his assertion that President Obama tapped his phones, Schmidt went on a rant. Lowlights: “This makes you look unhinged . ....

If Serpent Head is nervous . . . There was an ironic contrast on today’s Morning Joe. On the one hand, Steve Schmidt—former McCain campaign manager turned Trump antagonist—sees no real chance for the Donald. Said Schmidt: “I’ve been in the camp that says it’s been over for some time,” and that “the bill is coming due for the tone and tenor” of Trump’s campaign. Schmidt sees Hillary cruising to a win with 320-340 Electoral College votes. It was actually James Carville who in contrast said that it’s “not impossible” for Trump to win, and indeed that he’s a “nervous...

Chief strategist to the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign and current MSNBC contributor Steve Schmidt advised the Trump campaign to focus on writing a "dignified" concession speech for "Madam President-Elect Hillary Clinton."

A wave of apprehension and anguish swept the Republican Party on Thursday, with many GOP leaders alarmed by Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the election and concluding that it is probably too late to salvage his flailing presidential campaign. As the Republican nominee reeled from a turbulent performance in the final debate here in Las Vegas, his party’s embattled senators and House members scrambled to protect their seats and preserve the GOP’s congressional majorities against what Republicans privately acknowledge could be a landslide victory for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. With 19 days until the election, the Republican...

On today’s Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski teased an upcoming segment with James Carville and Steve Schmidt by saying it would be a “debate.” But the only contest between the two was to see who could be more critical of Donald Trump. And Schmidt, senior adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, won that contest hands down. Schmidt actually said that the “peaceful transition of power” would be “in doubt” if Donald Trump loses, suggesting he might refuse to concede and rouse his supporters by claiming the election was rigged. View the video here.

In the critical early days of September 2008, after Sarah Palin was nominated as the Republican Party's candidate for Vice President, the National Enquirer ran a cover story alleging that the Alaska governor had an adulterous affair. Palin, and Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, immediately and unequivocally denied the story. "The smearing of the Palin family must end," said McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, as quoted at the time. "The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie. The efforts of the media...

Riffing off a clip of Ted Cruz welcoming Marco Rubio followers to his fold, Mika Brzezinski went on an extended critique of Cruz's mannerisms on today's Morning Joe. Steve Schmidt joined in, accusing Cruz of "oozing insincerity." Joe Scarborough pretended not to know what the others were talking about, facetiously wondering "what are you talking about? You didn't think that was from the heart?" View the video here.

One day after Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race, the Politico headline read: “Walker’s campaign manager unloads.” The same day, the Washington Post had an article, “Inside the collapse of Scott Walker’s presidential bid,” which also drew heavily from Walker’s campaign manager, GOP consultant Rick Wiley. It’s almost as if Wiley had an agenda.