A Fine Joe-mance

Good evening. Tonight, my colleague Michael Grynbaum takes us inside the safe space that President Biden turned to this week. We’re also covering the family drama unfolding on Capitol Hill, as Democrats reckon with the path forward for Biden’s embattled presidential campaign. — Jess Bidgood

A few minutes before 10 a.m. on Monday, Mika Brzezinski, the co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” paused to listen to a producer’s voice in her ear. “We have a special guest,” she informed her viewers, before a familiar voice piped up.

“Hey, Mika,” President Biden said.

There are very few journalists on a first-name basis with this president, and even fewer cable news hosts. But Brzezinski and her husband and co-host, Joe Scarborough, have carved out a strikingly intimate relationship with the man in the Oval Office — which is why Biden turned to their airwaves at a moment of political peril.

Their on-air phone conversation hearkened back to the days when a different politician under pressure regularly called into “Morning Joe”: Donald Trump, who as a Republican candidate in 2016 was a frequent guest. (Indeed, Trump made his own cable TV appearance hours after Biden’s “Morning Joe” cameo, calling into “Hannity” on Fox News.)

But Trump and the “Morning Joe” crew fell out, and Scarborough and Brzezinski have since emerged as two of Biden’s most stalwart champions in the news media. Scarborough made headlines when he raised concerns after Biden’s poor debate performance, but Brzezinski has refused to waver.

“Morning Joe” has a fervent audience of Washington insiders, and it has long been a must-watch in the Biden White House. The president watches segments and has asked aides to follow up on what he sees. Biden also chats on the phone with