This is the Sept. 15, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox every 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
After years of waking up before most of us, what’s one story that changed the way you see the world — and what’s a story you still hope to report someday?
— Helen C., Rockville Center, N.Y.
Helen, that is a great question. Looking back over my 32 years in public life, I’ve seen government shutdowns, destructive foreign wars, the horrors of 9/11, the rise of China, the collapse of the economy in 2008, and other stories that might be viewed as era-defining in past decades. But nothing prepared me for the collapse of constitutional checks and balances that accompanied Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House.
While historians will debate the Roberts Court’s reaction to the Trump presidency, the highest court in the land has often provided important checks and balances to the president’s most dangerous attempts to steal elections and disrupt the way states run their own elections.
There are fewer mitigating factors to soften the harsh judgment that historians will pass down on this Republican Congress. The Article 1 branch has allowed Trump to strip it of its power to declare wars, enact tariffs, appropriate funds for agencies, and practice basic oversight duties.
Even when Congress passed a law requiring the Epstein files to be released in full, the White House defiantly broke the law. With this Republican Congress, no consequences followed.
Which leads to the second part of your question: What story do I hope to report on one day?
Simple. I want justice served on those who now believe they are beyond the reach of the law.
I want justice served on administration officials who willfully broke the law.
I want justice served on administration officials who illegally used their positions of power for financial gain.
I want justice served on the thugs who savagely beat and killed immigrants and U.S. citizens in the streets of America.
I want justice served on the goons who jailed immigrants for profit and then stripped them of their constitutional rights.
And I want justice served on every administration official who knowingly breached the Constitution, broke America’s laws, and made us all poorer as a nation because of it.
I want justice to be served, and I believe it will be.
I read a lot of fiction but not a lot of history or political history. What is a nonfiction book of history or political history (or a political biography!) that you’d recommend I start with to get me hooked?
— Caroline G., Bloomington, Ind.
I have several recommendations, and I will start with some of the books that first got me interested in politics.
At the top of that list is Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s biography of Robert Kennedy. As the notes on the version of the book I read said, “The story of Bobby Kennedy is the story of our times.” And that certainly was the case for Americans who came of age in the postwar world.
I also loved reading David Halberstam’s “The Reckoning.” While the book focused on the collapse of Detroit’s dominant role in car manufacturing in the late 1970s, the book remains timeless as successive generations of working Americans are challenged by post-Industrial Age realities — whether caused by the Information Age, the tech revolution, or the world of artificial intelligence.
David Stockman‘s “The Triumph of Politics” taught me at an early age that revolutions do not — and should not — happen in Washington, D.C. That central insight led me to warn one administration after another that despite their arrogant belief that they had cracked the code on how to forever change American politics, Washington always wins.
This is not a cause for despair. It is, instead, a constitutional gift. Our founders foresaw the rise of tyrants and radicals, and built a system that would grind their power down unless they learned the art of compromise and bipartisanship.
The current administration has obviously not learned that lesson.
Also make sure to read Jon Meacham’s book on Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Ricks’ book on our founders’ educational journeys, Richard Ben Cramer’s “What It Takes,” and Theodore White’s beautiful classic “The Making of the President.”
There are 100 more I could list, but I might do better to look at my book collection over the next week and write them down in the next newsletter!
Joe, thank you for your remarks on the U.S./Canada relations. Like Maine residents, my small town in Michigan, which is just across the St. Clair River from Sombra, Ontario. The streets here used to be filled with Ontario license plates, folks eating dinner in our restaurants, visiting our shops, or just taking in the view from the other side. Now nothing. I’m proud of our neighbors for standing up to Trump and hope after this terrible period is over, we can be friends again. And Scott Bessent had it right — except that Canada is the German shepherd and Trump and his administration are the yippie, annoying little dog. Thank you.
— Cindy S., Marine City, Mich.
Cindy, we are so blessed to have Canada as our neighbor to the north. The Canadian people have been wonderful allies and friends, and the next administration better get this relationship right. Why any president would want to senselessly insult such steadfast allies will always remain a mystery to me.
The people of Maine, Michigan, and Alaska will remember the cost of Donald Trump‘s belligerence to their state economies when Senate elections are held this fall. Let’s hope that candidates who win those elections will start treating our friends to the north with the respect they deserve.
And by the way, my favorite music station growing up was CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. I could pick up their signal in upstate New York and listened to that classic radio station every night. Incredible music.
Thanks so much for your important question! Now on with the countdown …
MORNING JOE FAMILY MEETING
Every Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET, MS NOW Members can join a live conversation with Joe Scarborough.
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, Sept. 22, to take part.
If interested, please fill out this form by Friday, Sept. 18. Participants will be notified via email if selected.
The post The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: Mailbag edition appeared first on MS NOW.
