This is the July 29, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“Less difference exists between the civilization of Maine and that of Georgia than between the civilization of Normandy and that of Brittany.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America,” 1835
I did a town hall yesterday with subscribers to this newsletter, and a woman asked me a question I get all the time:
“In 32 years of public service, what have you learned that maybe the rest of us don’t know?”
Here’s what I know:
I’ve lived in northwest Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, upstate New York, Connecticut, Maine, and New York City.
A mom and dad in Demopolis, Alabama, want the same thing as most parents on the Upper West Side. The same thing parents want in West Virginia, upstate New York, Pensacola.
It’s politics, gerrymandering, and media ecosystems that make us seem far more divided than we really are.
You wouldn’t believe how many of the 320 million Americans out there share the same values.
Yes, there are extremes on both sides. Extremists scroll social media, listen to podcasts, and watch outrage television all day long. But that’s not where most Americans live.
Nearly 200 years ago, a Frenchman traveled this country and was shocked to find that Americans 1,000 miles apart had more in common than people in neighboring provinces back home — that the idea holding this country together was stronger than anything dividing it.
That’s still true today. Regardless of any algorithm telling you otherwise.
CHART OF THE DAY
More than a third of American voters — including 35% of Trump voters and 44% of Harris voters — also said that the megabill offers “some tax breaks for working Americans to conceal larger tax breaks for the wealthy.”
Source: The POLITICO/Public First Poll of 2,061 U.S. adults conducted July 12-15. Margin of error: ±2.16 percentage points.
WHAT THEY SAID
Elisabeth Bumiller on strikes on Iran
“Once again, the United States looks very reactionary and not in control. I don’t know how the president gets out of this. I don’t think he knows either. And it’s going to be a real albatross around his neck heading into the midterms.”
Ed Luce on Trump’s waning sway
“President Trump’s social media posts and declarations enable him to troll liberals at home and dominate the attention economy. But that same method has sapped his ability to reach deals with other countries overseas, and especially with Iran.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro on children at the Dilley Center
“There’s a 2-month-old baby and four pregnant women there right now. It’s the only place in this country where child imprisonment has been turned into a commodity. There are investors who make more money the more kids that are put into the Dilley detention center. It’s grotesque.”
ON THE DOCKET: FED INTEREST RATES
Today, the Federal Reserve announces its decision on interest rates. No one is expecting a cut.
Earlier this year, markets expected the Fed to keep cutting rates as Covid-era inflation faded. That’s no longer the case. In just the past week, the odds of a rate hike have climbed above 30%.
Why? In large part because of the spike in inflation since Donald Trump began the war against Iran at the end of February.
Meanwhile, deficits are still increasing — no matter what the president tells you. The deficit this year will be $1.9 trillion, roughly 6% of gross domestic product, a level traditionally only seen in war or recession. And the Congressional Budget Office projects that by 2036, the deficit will reach $2.5 trillion and the national debt will hit $46 trillion in today’s dollars — 120% of GDP.
The post You asked me what I learned in 32 years of public service. Here’s my answer appeared first on MS NOW.
