This is the June 16, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter.Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.

JOE’S NOTE

Rational.

That’s how Donald Trump described the new leadership of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard this morning in France. And he took full credit for making them that way. 

Nobody knows how history unfolds. Maybe this war will bring positive change to Iran five, 10, 20 years from now. 

But what concerns so many people — Republicans, Iran hawks, allies across the region — is how desperate this sell has become. 

JD Vance has claimed on television that Iran has seen the error of its ways, saying everything but that it would become a member of the Southern Baptist Convention.

And what exactly are we getting? 

No deal on nukes, which Trump said was the whole reason he went in. 

The Strait of Hormuz may reopen, but Iranians are already talking about charging a service fee. 

And a $300 billion reconstruction fund that makes the sanctions relief Republicans hammered former President Barack Obama over look like pocket change.

When we are attacked, when horrible things happen, we say never again. We say never forget. We double down and make sure we’ll never be that vulnerable again. 

And that’s exactly what the Iranians are saying to themselves right now. Not the moderates, but the most radical of the most radical, the ones who took power after we killed their leaders.

They are not forgetting 1953 and the United States overthrowing their government. They are not forgetting the revolution of 1979. They are not forgetting 47 years of “Death to America, death to Israel.” 

They’re not forgetting any of it.

The louder Trump talks, the faster we should count our spoons.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Look, if you want your Rolls-Royce price, we need the Rolls-Royce product.”

— Jared Kushner, to Iran’s parliamentary speaker, during April negotiations over a peace deal. 

CHART OF THE DAY

ON THIS DATE

On June 16, 2015, Trump descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York to announce his presidential campaign, delivering a speech in which he accused Mexico of “sending rapists” to the U.S. 

WHAT THEY SAID

INES DE LA CUETARA ON THE G7

“European leaders want to turn the focus back to Ukraine, and President Trump feels that Iran is in the rearview mirror — even though that may not necessarily be the case. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the struggle has not ended.”

DAVID IGNATIUS ON IRAN DEAL

“Even though we don’t know what is in the deal, we can presume one thing: The Strait of Hormuz will reopen, making a significant difference in the world economy. Beyond that, we’ll be arguing about this for weeks and months to come.”

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER ON INCLUSION

“When I promote bodybuilding or fitness, I never ask if you’re a Democrat, Arab, Israeli, Australian. I don’t care. I want everyone to be fit.”

EXTRA HOT TEA

$600 million

— The updated cost estimate for Trump’s White House ballroom, more than half of which will reportedly be paid by taxpayers. 

ONE MORE SHOT

Serhii Okunev / AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian firefighters work to contain damage to the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian missile and drone strike yesterday.

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