Mar. 18, 2026, 3:31 PM EDT

MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle set the facts straight on Tuesday’s “The 11th Hour,” after Donald Trump’s National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett tried to downplay the effect the Iran war is having on American consumers.

During an interview with CNBCHassett said the U.S. economy was “fundamentally sound” and that if the war continued, it “wouldn’t really disrupt the U.S. economy very much at all.” While he acknowledged that a prolonged conflict would “hurt consumers,” he said that was “the last of our concerns right now.”

“We are now in the third week of the war,” Ruhle said after playing a clip of the Trump official’s comments. “Kevin Hassett says the war would not disrupt the economy very much at all. But for facts’ sake, it already has.”

“Everybody from Wall Street to Main Street is trying to navigate the growing economic risks created by the war with Iran,” she said, noting that while markets finished strong on Tuesday, the price of oil was still climbing.

“If you have been watching this show, then you already know what it means for your wallet. Higher oil prices translate to higher prices for gas, diesel and even jet fuel, all the things that keep our economy — not just our economy, but the global economy — humming along,” she explained.

If Trump officials want to understand the reality many Americans are facing, the MS NOW host advised them simply to “walk outside.”

“Look at gas prices,” she said. “We have had farmer after farmer on this network warning what increased diesel prices do for their tractors, what increased fertilizer prices do. And not to mention, there’s loads of businesses that have nothing to do with the Strait of Hormuz, but they’re in this moment where they’re like, ‘I’m not hiring, I’m not growing. We’re at war. I don’t know what’s ahead.’”

While Ruhle assured viewers that the U.S. economy is “resilient,” she said the war comes as many Americans are already struggling with inflation due to Trump’s tariffs. “When you have this kind of stress, even strong economies can start to buckle,” she warned.

You can watch Ruhle’s full analysis in the clip at the top of the page.

Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”

Mar. 18, 2026, 2:09 PM EDT

This is the March 18, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter.Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Trump promised to get the U.S. out of ‘stupid wars.’ But now he and John Bolton are on the brink of launching us into a very stupid and costly war with Iran.”

— Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of national intelligence,  while running for president as a Democrat in 2019

JOE’S NOTE

David Drucker, writer for The Dispatch and an opinion columnist for Bloomberg News, joined us today to break down the voter dynamics among registered Democratic voters amid the results from Tuesday’s elections in Illinois.

JS: David, what did last night’s election results in Illinois say about the strength of moderate candidates in the Democratic Party?

DD: Well, a Democratic poll for Third Way, a centrist think tank, found that the typical Democratic primary voter is a white woman over 55 without a college degree. Most Democratic primary voters end up being white, female, older, and not college-educated.

JS: What was your takeaway?

DD: It confirms a familiar pattern. In both parties, the most pragmatic presidential candidate usually wins the nomination. Voters may like passion, but when it’s time to choose, they go with electability.

The poll also showed voters want a fighter willing to take on Republicans, but their own views aren’t far left.

JS: After rarely discussing faith on the campaign trail for years, Democrats seem more comfortable doing so now. Is this why?

DD: One surprise to me was that 57% of Democratic primary voters identify as Christian, many as evangelical or born-again. It’s a reminder that most Democratic voters resemble mainstream America. If you want to win in 2028, you need to appeal to that middle, not just the progressive fringe.

JS: I noticed the same divide during the 2020 Democratic debates — candidates focused on Twitter instead of voters. [Joe] Biden was the lone moderate, and he swept the primaries after South Carolina.

MB: Why do you think that happened when the energy seemed to be with other Democratic candidates?

JS: Younger voters are more left-leaning. But for now, the average Democrat is a 55-year-old white woman who makes up a centrist coalition with voters of color who tend to be moderate, especially Black women and many Hispanic voters. Despite the online noise, Democrats still win from the middle.

Elisabeth Bumiller: Exactly. Every Democratic president for decades — Biden, Obama, Clinton, Carter — has been a moderate. That could change, with younger progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani energizing the base. But for now, the center still defines the party.

It is striking, though, that the average primary voter isn’t college-educated, given Democrats’ reputation as the party of the educated class.

DD: Right. These are self-identified primary voters. The party’s base has become more college-educated overall, but this shows how the primary electorate differs. Democrats have moved somewhat left over time, but the average voter still sees themselves as center-left, pragmatic, and tolerant of disagreement. They want fighters who focus on priorities, not purity tests. Biden’s success in 2020 proves that dynamic still holds.

JS: And to be clear, no one’s saying Democrats are conservative — just that they may be less progressive as a whole than social media suggests.

CHART OF THE DAY

EYES WIDE SHUT

It happens to all of us: You snap awake in the middle of the night, the room still dark, your alarm hours away — and you just can’t get back to sleep.

About 1 in 5 Americans experiences this kind of middle-of-the-night insomnia, according to The Washington Post. If you’re one of them, a simple breathing trick may help.

Try the 4-7-8 method: Inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, then exhale slowly for eight. Repeat until your body starts to settle.

If that doesn’t work, you might try a cognitive shuffle or progressive muscle relaxation. And, of course, leave your phone alone.

ON THIS DATE

In 1990, thieves posing as police officers slipped into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with 13 works of art — among them paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer — valued at more than $500 million.

More than three decades later, it remains the largest unsolved art heist in history and is the subject of the Netflix docuseries “This Is a Robbery,” directed and co-produced by the Barnicle boys!

A CONVERSATION WITH SEN. MARK KELLY

was. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona joined “Morning Joe” ahead of the briefing to discuss his views on the conflict — and the answers he says the American people deserve.

JS: Senator, you know what it’s like to go into combat. What’s on your mind today when you think about those serving in the U.S. military?

MK: We’ve got the most incredible men and women serving this country, and I think it’s fair to say their family members are serving as well. It’s challenging to live that life. They deserve to have a government that’s looking out for their best interests, and I’m not sure that’s the case right now.

JS: What would you tell loved ones watching the news, nervous about their sons or daughters being deployed in the Middle East?

MK: It’s challenging, because the president entered this war without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline.

I tell them I’ve got their backs — I’ll keep pushing this administration to make better decisions and hold them accountable when they don’t.

JS: You’re heading today into a major intelligence briefing. What’s the key question you need answered?

MK: I want to know how these decisions are actually making Americans safer — because right now, it doesn’t look that way. The president is surrounded by people who won’t challenge him, and that’s dangerous, especially on matters of national security.

When I was in charge of the space shuttle, I used to tell my crew members that they were required to question my decisions, especially when it came to safety or mission success.

JL: There are now real questions about whether Iran was an imminent threat. How do you plan to address that today?

MK: I want clarity on what intelligence was presented to the president — and whether anyone raised concerns about the risks, including in the Strait of Hormuz.

The president doesn’t seem to fully understand the military’s capabilities or how it operates.

JS: Senator, let’s talk about the SAVE Act. People on social media keep pushing the lie that it’s the only way to save America. What’s really going on here?

MK: This goes far beyond voter ID. People would have to re-register, and many wouldn’t even be able to use a military ID. It puts real barriers in front of working people and seniors who may not have the documents required.

We’re going to do everything we can to stop this. The SAVE Act is horrible legislation that would take our country back decades.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.

EXTRA HOT TEA

1 IN 9.2 QUINTILLION

— The mathematical odds of successfully predicting an entire March Madness bracket

ONE MORE SHOT

Willie Nelson performs in concert during the 11th Annual Luck Potluck at Luck Ranch last night in Spicewood, Texas.

CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE