The Dictatorship
The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: From “Narco-Terrorists” to “Distressed Mariners”
This is the Dec. 10 edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter.Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
The president is perfectly fine. Just ask him. He took a cognitive test.
“Person, woman, man, camera, TV.”
In a Truth Social rantlast night,Donald Trumpchanneled his best Joseph Stalin, calling The New York Times the “enemy of the people.”
What set him off? A story that he nodded offin last week’s Cabinet meeting. That was enough for him to brand the reporters — who had the facts right — “Enemies of the People.”
It’s worth remembering where that language comes from. After 30 years of show trials and the endless slaughter of Soviet citizens,Nikita KhrushchevcondemnedStalin’s cynical use of the term “enemy of the people,” warning that it enabled the “most cruel repression” of political opponents, facts be damned.
But this is America, and Trump would never want violence to befall employees of the Times. Would he?
After calling the reporters “seditious” and “even treasonous,” Trump then shifted into Jan. 6 mode, declaring that because the Times is made up of “true Enemies of the People, we should do something about it.”
Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!
But wait, there’s more. The president’s post then bragged about “taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination,” insisting that “few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times,” and reminding his followers that he “ACED all three of them” in front of numerous unnamed doctors and experts.
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
Trump’s declaration of fitness came days after another clash, when he lashed out at an ABC News reporter for quoting back what he had said just days earlier.
“I never said that,” Trump groused. “Fake news.”
After being reminded that he had, in fact, said that exact thing a few days before, the cognitively perfect president mumbled something about following the Pentagon’s advice.
And then, of course, last night’s Truth Social screed.
Maybe the president was exhausted after traveling to Pennsylvania yesterday for the White House’s carefully crafted Affordability Tour, where Trump proceeded to mock concerns about …affordability,telling members of his audience they were doing better than ever.
After all, are they going to trust Trump or their empty wallets?
No wonder his approval rating has sunk into the 30s.
No wonder Miami elected its first Democratic mayor in almost 30 years.
No wonder Republicans keep getting hammered at the ballot box over affordability while Americans grow increasinglyuneasyabout their own economic futures.
But Trump is undeterred. He rants on into the night about creating “the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country.”
Nope. Not out of touch at all.
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
“He’s a sleepy son of a bitch who destroyed our country.”
President Donald Trump,seeming to project in the direction of his predecessor,Joe Biden
SOURCE: Politico/Public First2,098 U.S. adults online, Nov 14-17
At the top of The New York Times last night: a stunning reportabout how the Trump administration is quietly repatriating survivors of its Venezuelan “boat strikes.” According to the Times, Trump officials are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent these men — endlessly labeled as “narco‑terrorists” by Trump officials — from entering the U.S. legal system, where their identities and stories could face public scrutiny.
The administration’s workaround, according to multiple officials who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity: quickly sending them back to their home countries before courts or reporters can ask questions, referring to them in some cases as “distressed mariners.”
It’s a revealing twist: Men once branded dangerous enough for lethal first and second strikes are now treated as hapless sailors in need of rescue.
And here’s why that matters: A trial on U.S. soil could undermine the administration’s justification for these attacks — and open the door to war crimes charges. And if they’re not the terrorists Trump claims? Then those war crimes investigations could turn into murder cases.
Real narco‑terrorists would be rushed to the United States and prosecuted for crimes against America. Instead, these men disappear into thin air with the assistance of the very people who tried to kill them at sea just weeks earlier.
All to keep Americans from learning the truth.
EXTRA HOT TEA
TROUBLE IN COAL COUNTRY
While President Trump was onstage last nightin the key swing state of Pennsylvania, Miami elected its first Democratin a generation. Not exactly the split-screen image the campaign dreamed of.
And the political signs aren’t looking much brighter in the Keystone State. Just next door to Mount Pocono — where Trump held his rally at a casino resort — sits the swing county of Luzerne.
Two years ago, Republicans controlled 10 of 11 county commission seats there. After the latest election? They’re down to just three.
A CONVERSATION WITH VAUGHN HILLYARD
Vaughn Hillyardwas on “Morning Joe” today to report on President Trump‘s speech in Pennsylvania last night. Hillyard, a veteran of covering more than 200 Trump rallies, said the president’s message was more disconnected from the political realities on the ground than he had ever witnessed.
Willie Geist: What was the reaction to the president’s speech last night from some of his supporters you spoke to?
VH: I’ve covered almost 200 of these speeches over the last 11 years, and this one had the highest cognitive clash I have seen over the course of this Trump era.
Mika Brzezinski: Why?
VH: Because of the conversations I’ve had over the last 72 hours in this community of 3,000 people in northeastern Pennsylvania. When you ask folks about the economy, health care premiums are skyrocketing, the price of groceries continues to increase, inflation is still where it was when President Biden left office, and they are really concerned.
WG: What other concerns did they talk to you about?
VH: Wage growth is a big issue here. It has declined, particularly among low-income and middle-class Americans. I was talking toDavid Metersa father of two, just yesterday, and he told me he’s having a hard time telling his kids that he can’t get them treats at McDonald’s at the end of the week — because his margins are so tight.
MB: Were others equally concerned?
VH: Yesterday before the rally started, I went up and down the line of folks going into his rally and asked about the report card they would give this current economy under the Trump administration.
WG: How did they grade him?
VH: President Trump gives himself an A plus-plus-plus. But I was hearing some B’s, D’s and C’s because the folks in that room are living an experience completely counter to the one that the president was painting last night at the rally. He says this is the golden age of America. It doesn’t feel that way, even to some of his strongest supporters.
This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.
AUSTRALIA LOGS OFF ITS KIDS
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is illuminated in Australia. Australian landmarks are illuminated on the first day of the national under 16 social media ban coming into effect.
Today kicks off a bold new social experiment in Australia — or, perhaps more accurately, a socialmediaexperiment.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the country has banned usersunder age 16 from creating accounts on 10 popular platforms. The government says the restriction is needed to protect young people from the darker corners of online life: cyberbullying, heightened anxiety and the small but real risk of predatory targeting.
The consequences fall squarely on the companies. Platforms that fail to keep underage users out could face fines in the tens of millions of dollars. But kids who sneak on anyway — and the parents who quietly enable them — won’t face penalties at all.
And teenagers seem well aware of the loophole. A survey by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.of more than 17,000 Australians under age 16 found most don’t expect the ban to work. Three in four said they would keep using social media regardless.
Still, the rest of the world is watching. Several countries are already eyeing Australia’s law as a potential model as they weigh their own limits on youth social media use. In the United States, a Quinnipiac University poll last year found almost 6 in 10 voters would favor a similar ban.
MS NOW reached out to the companies behind all 10 affected platforms. Most said they plan to comply. Reddit did, too — though it voiced “deep concerns,” arguing that the rule could “make young people less safe online” and undermine free expression.
Australia has taken a dramatic first step. What remains to be seen is whether it sticks — or becomes one more rule teenagers figure out how to get past.
ONE LAST SHOT
Gene Simmons, a founding member of the rock band Kiss, testifies before the United States Senate. Why? Who cares? The dude who sang “Calling Dr. Love” is testifying on Capitol Hill.
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
SPILL IT!
Next week, actorSimu Liujoins us to discuss his upcoming spy thriller series“The Copenhagen Test.”Want to ask a question? Send it overand we will pick our favorite to ask on the show!
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Let us know what you think.
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls “revolutionary.” In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is “The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, as two retiring Republicans on the panel dug in over President Donald Trump’s personal “anti-weaponization” deal with the government he runs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision to delay the committee vote that had been set for Thursday marks a setback for one of Trump’s highest-profile Cabinet nominees, at the hands of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a pair of Republicans set to leave the chamber next year.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” the committee spokesperson said.
Blanche’s nomination to permanently head the Department of Justice needs the support of either Cornyn or Tillis to make it out of the committee to a vote by the full Senate, assuming all Democrats remain opposed.
“Why don’t you call over the Department of Justice and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon amid the hardening standoff over his demand that Blanche and the DOJ put in writing a commitment never to pursue the president’s prized “anti-weaponization” fund, and to clarify the terms of Trump’s personal deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Tillis told MS NOW that the conversations were complicated by the need for the Justice Department to get “several parties” to agree on the language of the statement Cornyn and Tillis are seeking.
“What I’ve advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we’re not prepared to vote yes yet,” he added.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in response to the decision to postpone the committee vote.
Cornyn was set to meet with Blanche on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was called off after Blanche failed to meet the senator’s demand for written proposals to modify the controversial settlement agreement he brokered between Trump and the IRS. The Republican senator is set to leave Congress when his term ends in January after a bruising May primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump’s chosen candidate.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard (Blanche) is going through quite nicely.”
Cornyn made clear to Blanche during his confirmation hearing that he will not get his support until he agrees to reopen and modify the settlement. Due to the committee’s narrow Republican majority, one GOP “no” vote is enough to sink Blanche’s nomination.
The senator has asked Blanche to provide proof that the proposed nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund established as part of the deal between Trump and the IRS is formally dead, and he has also demanded Blanche narrow the tax audit immunity provisions the settlement afforded to Trump and his family.
Blanche has publicly stated that his department has dropped the fund, but he and the DOJ have dodged requests from Cornyn and a federal judge to put that in writing.
After announcing his meeting with Blanche would not take place Wednesday morning, Cornyn told reporters that changes from Blanche “in a modified release form” would be acceptable, but that “for some reason … they simply refuse to do it,” referring to the DOJ.
Shortly after the meeting was called off, a Justice Department official told MS NOW that the department “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office.”
Cornyn said that proposal was “not responsive” to his demands because it did not address the tax audit immunity provisions in the settlement, one of his key demands.
In May, Blanche signed an addendum as part of the deal that granted Trump, his family and his businesses immunity from pending IRS tax audits. That agreement, which has been decried by former IRS officials and legal experts as unlawful self-dealing, is being contested in federal court.
Cornyn noted that Blanche testified under oath that he could meet the request during his confirmation hearing.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said when asked why he thinks the DOJ could be slow-walking his request.
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived this week for his tour of Washington, he may have had a mission in mind.
Netanyahu needed to overcome his newly diminished stature and waning influence over his once close friend President Donald Trump as both leaders grapple with the unpopularity of a war they started together and is escaping their control.
His meeting at the White House with Trump on Tuesday, which was closed to the press, was the first face-to-face encounter between the two allies since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump gave him a muted welcome and afterwards simply described the meeting as “very good.” “Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Rather than an intimate one-on-one setting, the Oval Office was full of top U.S. officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
But Netanyahu continued the full court press on the Trump administration.
Over the course of two days, in addition to seeing Trump and attending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the Capitol, Netanyahu also met separately with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio, White House and Israeli officials confirmed to MS NOW.
The Israeli prime minister’s slate of meetings with key U.S. national security officials comes at a pivotal moment in the Iran conflict as tensions escalate in the region and Americans increasingly sour on the war. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows 60% of American voters opposing U.S. military action against Iran and 74% against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Not only does Trump face pressure as Republicans face an uphill battle to retain congressional control in this fall’s midterms, Netanyahu’s fate as prime minister is at stake in Israel’s upcoming September elections – and he can’t afford to lose Trump’s favor.
The talks largely focused on what to do next as Iran continues to menace shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against American bases in the region and launch attacks on Gulf allies.
According to a senior Israeli official who was granted anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not come to a final decision after discussing three paths forward: get a “good deal” focused on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched material, have no deal and instead continue the blockade and economic pressure, or take escalated military action.
But Netanyahu did not tell Trump what he should do – nor did he express a preference.
The senior Israeli official noted Netanyahu has not ruled out diplomacy – as long as it is coupled with “very strong pressures,” calling the push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program “a contest of will and a contest of force.”
“There are ways of squeezing them and squeezing them and squeezing them and negotiating at the same time,” the official said.
Netanyahu did not present President Trump with new intelligence regarding the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain, per the senior Israeli official, noting the U.S. and Israel already are constantly sharing intelligence – and know where Iran’s highly enriched material is. “We don’t think it’s moved, and I think we have a pretty good grasp on that,” the official said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Trump and Netanyahu discussed ways Israel and the U.S. can work together to stop Iran’s nuclear program and get the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime trade, the senior Israeli official said.
The two leaders also discussed a third goal: to continue to undermine the Iranian regime and “possibly create future conditions for a change in that area.” U.S. officials have backed away from pursuing paths that would overthrow the current leadership, but Netanyahu still believes that could happen.
“The chasm that has been created between the people and the regime is not about to be closed,” the senior Israeli official said of Netanyahu’s thinking.
Netanyahu advised Trump in February that Israeli intelligence indicated launching strikes against Iran would lead to the toppling of the Islamic Republic’s regime – and five months later, the slain ayatollah’s son retains power with a close circle of hardliners, calling into question the accuracy of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
But the senior Israeli official said at the time, Netanyahu did not promise the Iranian people would take fate into their own hands following a coordinated attack. Rather, he chose his words carefully and said that an attack could create conditions to “advance the probability or the possibility that that would happen.”
The conditions needed for the Iranian regime to fall, “did not materialize,” the official told MS NOW, adding, “not for lack of insight, but for either operational failure or decisions that were made.”
Despite Netanyahu insisting Israel and the U.S. are on the same page, differences still remain: the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and the Saudi nuclear arrangement did not come up during Wednesday’s White House meeting, according to a second Israeli official granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to spread, with an Iranian drone attacking a U.S. gas storage tanker off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday.
Trump indicated he would not let Iran’s latest action slide, telling reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. would retaliate against Iran even as he leaves room for diplomatic talks to resume.
“It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”
As for what it would take for Israel to join the U.S. strikes, the senior Israeli official said that if Israel is attacked by Iran, “We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly. And I think Iran would make a great mistake.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
International rage over FIFA’s close ties to President Donald Trump has reached a fever pitch after soccer’s governing body announced a plan to sell a significant stake to an investor group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
The president and his family have all but turned the White House into their personal piggy bank. And FIFA — which has its own sordid history of corruption — seems to have made itself a party to Trump’s self-enrichment under Gianni Infantino’s leadership, such as by paying for space inside Trump Tower in New York. (The organization has defended the office rental as a World Cup outpost.)
Soccer is seen by many as a unifying game. But Trump’s incorporation of FIFA into his political dynasty is threatening that idea.
FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
A press release from FIFA confirmed the plans and said Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investment group that would control FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA did not clarify why Thrive Eternal was selected, and Kushner was already dabbling in sports.
But Trump basically has already given son-in-law Jared Kushner carte blanche to dictate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East while simultaneously hatching business plans in the region. (Jared Kushner has denied any conflicts of interest.)
Joshua Kushner reportedly has been a major donor to Democrats. But, predictably, the idea of another Kushner becoming financially entwined with the World Cup — the world’s most popular sporting event — and basically being dropped into a position of global significance isn’t going over well. Several other soccer governing bodies have expressed concerns, including Europe’s UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement about The Athletic’s report, adding: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also rebuked the plan, writing on X: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!
Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a… https://t.co/knSZibuMea
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) July 28, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has already launched an investigation into the FIFA leader’s relationship with the Trump administration, while dozens of European lawmakers — citing concerns about “potential breaches of political neutrality” — have called for the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. This new proposal seems unlikely to assuage those concerns.
But what it does seem likely to do is fuel global anger toward the U.S. — the kind that has been growing since Trump retook office.
And when you consider that, it’s truly remarkable how the same MAGA movement whose members whined for years about politics mixing with sports is now in lockstep with a president who seems dead-set on casting his shadow over every sports event he can.
This post on X basically sums up the foul stench around FIFA’s latest proposal.
Sepp Blatter was Infantino’s predecessor as FIFA president and oversaw the organization amid some of its many scandals. When heof all people, is warning about how Trump and Infantino’s relationship is “deeply damaging” soccer, it’s a sign of how far FIFA has descended into the gutter.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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