This is the July 27, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Sometimes history rhymes. Sometimes it jumps up and down and repeats.
It is bitterly ironic that the president who for a year has mocked Jimmy Carter for how Iran played him now finds himself in the same position.
Chris Matthews was a speechwriter in the Carter White House, and he’s talked on “Morning Joe” repeatedly about how the Iranians knew exactly what they were doing in 1979 — the flag burnings, the blindfolded diplomats, the daily humiliations designed to destroy Carter politically before the 1980 election.
They knew he was desperate for a deal, and they used that against him. They didn’t release the hostages until Carter left office — minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in.
Now here we are, more than four decades later, and the Iranians are using the same playbook on Donald Trump.
The president — and really more his party — wants out of this war at any cost because of an upcoming election. And the Iranians are using that false deadline to humiliate this president in every possible way. They’re just going to sit back, get the terms they want, and make him look weak.
Asked recently why he didn’t send Special Forces into Iran, Trump answered: “I didn’t feel like being Jimmy Carter.”
The Iranians are already saying “too late.”
CHART OF THE DAY
WHAT THEY SAID
Jon Meacham on content warning signs at the Smithsonian
“The American republic was founded, in part, to resist the human tendency toward autocracy — which makes the present irony as thick as the humidity. History holds moments of immense triumph and terrible tragedy alike. If you can’t engage both, then you’re a fantasist, not a citizen.”
Adrienne Elrod on the Democratic National Committee’s dwindling finances
“The good news is Democratic candidates are outraising Republicans across the board. The bad news is what comes next. Right after the midterms, the focus shifts to the presidential campaign — and going into 2027 with a party in debt is a massive disadvantage. We need to start now to capitalize on Trump’s extreme unpopularity: Call every major donor, ask them to max out, and pull Hail Marys.”
Pablo Torre on LeBron James’ move to the 76ers
“This move asserts LeBron James as a figure that cannot be peer-pressured into existence. Philly was not crying out for LeBron, but what’s he saying to them? ‘You haven’t won a title since 1983. I can do that for you, and also become the only person in history to win a title with four different teams.’”
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