Foreign Policy Back on Center Stage for U.S. Presidents

John Heilemann talks with Michael Beschloss, NBC News Presidential Historian, host of Fireside History with Michael Beschloss on Peacock/MSNBC, and author of ten books focusing on occupants of the Oval Office – including Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Heilemann and Beschloss discuss President Biden’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war and why Biden isn’t benefitting politically from his leadership on the world stage; the ongoing risk of Russia deploying nuclear weapons and the lessons U.S. decision-makers can take from the Cuban Missile Crisis; and how foreign policy crises have reshaped American presidencies, from World War II’s effect on the legacies of FDR and Truman to Vietnam’s stain on the record of Lyndon B. Johnson. They also discuss the historic dimensions of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, along with Mitch McConnell’s hint that, if Republicans take control of the Senate, he might take the unprecedented step of denying Biden the opportunity to put another justice -- any justice, under any circumstances -- to SCOTUS. And they take a moment to break down LBJ's infamous and hilarious conversation with the owner of Haggar Slacks.