Many different phrases have been used to describe the American government, but MS NOW legal analyst Melissa Murray has managed to invent one so ridiculous it must never have been heard before. On Thursday’s episode of Deadline: White House, Melissa Murray claimed the government is “held together by friendship bracelets and norms,” a bizarre and childish description of her very own field of study to say the least. Just before that, Murray also criticized Congress for failing to use resources to “make the streets safer,” a curious accusation considering MS NOW’s commentary on Trump’s police and security methods in the past. Talking about the Justice Department under President Trump, host Nicolle Wallace wondered, “I mean, Melissa, I think a lot of people watching wonder why it can’t be stopped.” Murray replied: MELISSA MURRAY: I think people ought to be asking, what is Congress doing if these resources are being used in ways that don't make us safer, that don't make the streets safer, that actually may compromise our security in other ways? So that's one aspect of it.    The other point is the point I think Molly made. You know, in a lot of ways, we are a government kind of held together by friendship bracelets and norms. And we found someone who doesn't care about norms or friendship bracelets, and they're just moving fast and breaking things. And maybe we need to put some more guardrails in. This certainly needs to be what the next chapter looks like, rebuilding DOJ, but also putting in real guardrails that can hold in a situation like this.     For a legal scholar, Murray’s description of the government is frankly disappointing. Ignore the expansive American legal system and chain of command! Because Donald Trump “doesn’t care about norms or friendship bracelets,”  the American government has collapsed into his control. Murray’s choice of wording makes the insincerity of her argument clear, her description completely unserious in contrast to the way she reacted when the Biden DOJ was going after Trump. Murray also seemed very concerned about Congress not putting enough resources into making streets safer. Curious, considering MS NOW is the same network that described the violent BLM riots as “Mostly a protest… not generally speaking unruly” while a police headquarters burned down in the background. This is also the same network that backed the ‘defund the police’ movements from the same time period, and even more recently decried Trump's security measures in cities like D.C. and Minneapolis as authoritarian. Is Congress not putting enough resources into keeping the streets safe? Or should they be cutting those resources and presence instead? Murray can’t have her cake and eat it too. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MS NOW’s Deadline: White House May 28, 2026 04:27:56 PM ET (...) NICOLLE WALLACE: I mean, Melissa, I think a lot of people watching wonder why it can’t be stopped. MELISSA MURRAY: I mean, it's a good question. I think it could be stopped. You know, one entity that could have a lot to say here is the entity that funds the government, Congress. Congress could step in, like, they have the power to call hearings. They can have oversight hearings about how this is being run. What these resources are being used for in the name of the people, and we just haven't seen appetite for that. And, you know, that's an open question.  I think people ought to be asking, what is Congress doing if these resources are being used in ways that don't make us safer, that don't make the streets safer, that actually may compromise our security in other ways? So that's one aspect of it.  The other point is the point I think Molly made. You know, in a lot of ways, we are a government kind of held together by friendship bracelets and norms. And we found someone who doesn't care about norms or friendship bracelets, and they're just moving fast and breaking things. And maybe we need to put some more guardrails in. This certainly needs to be what the next chapter looks like, rebuilding DOJ, but also putting in real guardrails that can hold in a situation like this. (...)