This is the Sept. 29, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Hello, “Morning Joe” Family!
We love hearing from you. Here’s what was on your mind this week. As always, you can write to us any time.
MAILBAG
Joe, I think it is interesting that President Trump has us in a war with Iran supposedly because they might be able to develop nuclear weapons, within the next 10 years, that could threaten the world. But when confronted with a technology that could end the world as we know it by the end of the decade, why does he seem so impotent?
— Rick K., Paris, Maine
Rick, that is an important question.
Donald Trump promised to end Iran’s nuclear program before, during, and after he got ensnared in the Iranian quagmire.
Unfortunately, the current war has empowered Iranian hard-liners, who will now almost certainly push harder and faster for their own nuclear weapon.
You can also expect nuclear proliferation to spread across the region, with Saudi Arabia being the next Middle Eastern power to pursue a nuclear program.
Meanwhile, at home, the Trump administration takes a passive, hands-off approach to regulating the latest and most dangerous artificial intelligence frontier systems. While this same technology can make Americans healthier, more productive, and more secure in many respects, unregulated development will likely lead to security breaches at banks, military installations, nuclear facilities, biohazard sites, energy and water facilities, and just about every other institution that impacts American life.
This failure to wisely regulate AI systems will allow future tragedies to erupt across these sectors, bringing chaos to American society. As you know, some pioneers in the field even warn that the technology could eventually pose an existential threat to the human race.
Why is Donald Trump doing nothing to manage the growing threat from these self-improving frontier systems?
Two reasons.
1. Silicon Valley companies have given the president tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions. They’ve bought his loyalty, so he’s washed his hands of the growing threat Americans now face.
2. Trump measures his success by the stock market. Because markets are so dependent on AI tech companies for sustained growth, he fears that any regulation of Silicon Valley will cause those stocks to slump.
This shortsighted analysis has it backward. As we explained on “Morning Joe” today, balanced regulation of advanced AI systems could help prevent the very tragedies that would expose these companies to massive lawsuits that would send their valuations plummeting.
Tragically, the president is asleep at the switch, and we will all pay for it unless he’s awakened soon.
I am bewildered, as I am sure many are. If the Iranians are begging to end the war as it seems, and sending a proposal, and — surprise, the president rejected it, but why has he not come back with a rebuttal? Isn’t that what negotiations do? Go back and forth until an agreement is met? He just wants to prolong it for no sensible reason. What will work?
— Bruce M., Moncton, New Brunswick
The Iranians recently sent the president an updated version of a previous memorandum of understanding that would have transferred hundreds of billions of dollars to the Iranian regime from Tehran’s frozen funds and a private fund from Gulf nations.
Under that MOU, the Islamic regime would have received more in economic support for ending Trump’s war than Germany paid in reparations to the Allies after World War I.
The prior MOU was a terrible deal that would have made the Islamic Republic of Iran the most powerful country in the region — and turned Tehran into a menace to America for years to come.
The president has finally landed on the only rational approach that might allow U.S. negotiators to end this war on terms acceptable to America and its allies.
The United States’s continued economic pressure on Iran will further damage the terrorist state’s economy, which was already in freefall before the war began.
Such an approach could take a great deal of time, or it could help trigger a sudden Soviet-style collapse. With Iranian politicians publicly pressuring the Revolutionary Guard to strike a deal with the United States as soon as possible, there are signs that strategy could be working. Only time will tell.
First, Mika, what are our chances that America will wake up and realize that a woman can run our country and run it correctly? Second, Joe, do you believe that a change in congress to a democratic government will help us get back to some kind of normal again?
— Jeanette G., Rochester, N.Y.
Mika: There are a growing number of Americans who have buyer’s remorse every time they hear Hillary Clinton speak, and think to themselves, “What if she had won?”
What a different world we would live in today.
As far as when Americans will believe a woman is ready to lead, I believe women just have to keep running, keep pushing, and keep promoting the idea that a woman can do a great job as president — because she can!
If we keep saying it and believing it, just like men do, it will happen.
Joe: Jeanette, a Democratic Congress will bring back America’s normal checks and balances that have guided the country since James Madison’s Constitution took effect over two centuries ago. That will mean a return from the radicalized, strongman form of government that has pushed America down a dangerous road over the past few years.
Joe, I hear over and over people say there will be a “blue wave.” Some say there will be an impeachment, but how can they be so confident and smug when nobody knows if it will be a free and fair election?
— Anonymous
Thank you so much for this important question.
Anyone expressing confidence about a coming blue wave this early in the election cycle needs to remember how “experts” predicted a massive red wave just four years ago. That Republican wave never materialized. Instead, Democrats did far better than parties in power usually do in off-year elections. That means Democrats should take nothing for granted and fight hard right up until the second polls close. That includes making sure the United States has fair and free elections in 2026.
While the polls seem to be moving in the Democrats’ direction across the country, voters always have the final word, so we will have to wait for the ultimate judgment of the American people.
On a lighter side … when Mika is giving you the “stink eye” for talking for too long or using a four-letter word … is she really mad at you and do you catch s––– later? Love watching you blow through the time limits.
— Robert R., Northbrook, Ill.
Thanks for asking, Robert! A very funny question, and I sense you already know the answer.
Whenever somebody tells Mika that I ramble on too long, she delivers a curt response: It’s called “Morning Joe” for a reason. Mika guides and directs much of what we do on the air and helped develop the roles we now fit into comfortably. Whenever I tell Mika that I want to sit back and listen a bit more during a show, she tells me, “Your job is to get out there and tell people why everything is going to be all right. You can sit back on weekends.”
As usual, I listen to Mika. 
MORNING JOE FAMILY MEETING
Every Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET, MS NOW Members can join a live conversation with the “Morning Joe” family.
If you are interested in asking Joe a question directly over video, please let us know. These questions can be about politics, news of the day, or anything else that’s on your mind!
Participants will need to complete a short pre-interview and be available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to take part.
If you’re interested, please fill out this form by Friday, Oct. 2. Participants will be notified via email if selected.
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