What MSNBC Hosts Want to See From Joe Biden’s State of the Union

A Second-Term Trump • Haley’s Next Moves • Netflix Can Chill [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( What MSNBC Hosts Want to See From Joe Biden’s State of the Union Good morning from the Hive newsroom! If there’s one way for Joe Biden to shine during his State of the Union address tonight, it’s by overcoming the unexpected—that is according to MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, who remarked on the president’s “utterly masterful” exchange last year, when he clapped back at Republican hecklers over Social Security. “The most effective thing that could happen,” O’Donnell [tells]( Charlotte Klein, is an “unanticipated ad-lib,” because “nothing publicly answers your age question better than that.” O’Donnell is hardly alone in this view. In Chris Smith’s [curtain-raiser](, several Democratic strategists stress the need for Biden to demonstrate his mental acuity, while also suggesting he should spend time bashing Donald Trump and selling his own record. Meanwhile, speaking of the former president, Eric Lutz [sums up]( his definitive shellacking of Nikki Haley, who, with Super Tuesday now behind her, must eventually decide whether to direct her voters to Trump. Thanks for reading. [Image may contain: Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Adult, Person, People, Body Part, Finger, Hand, Art, Collage, and Crowd]( [What MSNBC Hosts Want to See From Joe Biden’s State of the Union]( By [Charlotte Klein]( [Vanity Fair caught up with Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders-Townsend, and Lawrence O’Donnell, three network stars well-versed in the ways of Washington, for insights into how the president can make a second-term pitch, tackle the age issue, and perhaps deal with unruly Republicans.]( [Read more button](   [“He Oughta Fight Back”: The High-Wire Act of Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address]( By [Chris Smith]( [On top of touting his administration’s record and blasting Donald Trump, the president must demonstrate his own mental agility. “The expectations at this point,” one strategist says, “are that this guy is drooling in his soup. And he’s not.”]( [Read more button](   [Nikki Haley’s Will-She-or-Won’t-She Trump Endorsement]( By [Eric Lutz]( [With her campaign officially over, the former UN ambassador must now decide whether to direct her base toward the chaos candidate.]( [Read more button](   [Donald Trump’s Pants-Pissingly Terrifying Plans for a Second Term]( By [Bess Levin]( [Mass deportations, large-scale detention camps, political prosecutions, and the end of abortion as we know it are just some of the things to expect.]( [Read more button](   [Netflix Can Chill: After Stock Crash and Rampant Schadenfreude, the Streamer Rebounds]( By [Joy Press]( [One analyst says Netflix stumbled because it didn’t predict others would be willing to lose “ungodly amounts of money” to compete with it.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2024 Condé Nast