This is the Aug, 20, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“I’m very good at flagpoles.”
— President Donald Trump yesterday while showing reporters his latest White House renovations
Thomas Jefferson called public debt “the greatest of dangers to be feared.”
Two hundred and fifty years into the American experiment, our national debt has hit an all-time high of $40 trillion.
During his first campaign for president, Donald Trump promised to pay down the national debt within eight years.
Since then, it has doubled.
In fact, Trump has accumulated as much debt since entering the White House as every president from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined.
If you made $1 million a day, it would take nearly 110,000 years to pay off $40 trillion.
That’s 20 times longer than all of recorded history.
And for the first time ever, Americans are paying more in interest on the debt than on national defense.
As Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan write in “Regime Change,” this second presidency has come down to two things: construction and retribution.
Yesterday, Trump spent 40 minutes walking reporters through his White House renovation projects.
“I’m very good at flagpoles,” he told them.
Too bad he’s not so good at paying down the debt and keeping his promises to the American people.
CHARTS OF THE DAY
Source: Gallup World Poll/FAO, 2026. FAOSTAT: Suite of Food Security Indicators.
WHAT THEY SAID
Willie Geist on Trump’s construction projects
“The president thinks putting his name on everything is his legacy. But historians will be looking at the Iran war and $40 trillion in debt.”
Jon Meacham on the political moment
“Politics has become entertainment, a machinery of perpetual conflict. It’s just this ongoing reality show — and unfortunately, it’s our reality.”
Mara Gay on Georgia voters
“There’s a lot of anger toward Trump and Republicans, but also toward the Democratic establishment and leadership. Voters want corporate money out of politics and a fighter in office — someone who will stand up for multiracial democracy, protect civil rights, and make sure they and their children can live a decent middle-class life.”
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