Never mind that the conversation over which “Joe” and “Mika” preside (along with, among others, plagiarist and journalistic coaster Mike Barnicle) barely rises above the level of snotty cheerleaders at a high school cafeteria. The ratings for the show are wan, but from the self-importance of its participants one would think that they occupy the commanding heights of politics. They imply that poor “Donald” lacks their understanding of the American people and so forth. They see themselves as the cool kids of American politics, whose mission it is to identify the misfits in the cafeteria. Collective chucks or sighs ensue the moment one of those “losers” violates the judgment or taste of the show’s participants.

They don’t feel any need to make arguments on the show. It is sufficient for the mean girls to point and laugh. While pretending to want more depth from the Trump administration, Joe and Mika attack anyone from it, such as Stephen Miller, who provides some. Earlier in the year, after Miller appeared on TV to make serious points about Trump’s travel ban, Joe and Mika pounced, denouncing him for such high crimes as “looking bad” on TV and daring to participate in presidential politics in his mere thirties.