This is the Jan. 23, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
We weathered another week of turmoil from the White House — much of it seemingly by design.
Today on “Morning Joe,” Anthony Scaramucci echoed podcaster Joe Rogan’s opinion that targeting Somalis, threatening Greenland, and terrorizing Minneapolis were all policies with one goal in mind: distracting voters from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Perhaps. But if so, this calculated chaos is coming at a heavy price for the president.
Not only are his poll ratings collapsing, but his most extreme policies are meeting real resistance from voters, courts, and even longtime allies.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board weighed in this week with a piece titled “Donald Trump, Not Unchained.”
Peggy Noonan wrote of Trump’s “horrifying” betrayal of our European allies.
The Supreme Court eviscerated the administration’s claim in oral arguments that a president can fire whomever they want on the Federal Reserve.
And the stock market sent Trump a clear message on raising tariffs and invading Greenland: Don’t!
And now even Vice President JD Vance is suggesting the White House may temper its savage course on immigration raids in Minneapolis.
Now, if anybody could figure out a reasonable check on the massive snowstorm heading east this weekend!
Stay safe. It’s supposed to be a big one.
With that epic winter storm bearing down on much of the country, Sunday is looking like the perfect day to stay inside and watch football. The AFC Championship game kicks off at 3 p.m. ET, with the New England Patriots visiting the Denver Broncos, followed by the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game at 6:30 p.m. ET.
But if you’re determined to beat the snow — good luck with that — there’s still plenty happening around the country.
Pittsburgh is rolling out the World of Wheels Custom Car Show, a major custom car and hot rod exhibition.
In Las Vegas, you can take it easy with the Eagles, live in concert at the Sphere.
Fans of the ballroom can enjoy the Dancing with the Stars Live! tour as it quicksteps into Boston.
And while we may be a month and a half away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training, baseball fans in Houston can get an early fix this weekend at the Houston Astros FanFest.
Now, on to your questions!
MAILBAG
Do you think most Republican senators think taking Greenland is a really dumb idea? And if so, why would they not all stand as a group and put up the guardrails?
— Brad D., O’Fallon, Mo.
Most Republicans on Capitol Hill probably did think taking Greenland was a stupid idea. But they are still too scared of their shadow to dare speak out.
Even Republican senators who were leaving Washington at the end of the year were still too afraid to criticize Donald Trump — choosing instead to attack his advisers.
They cynically assumed that the idea was so stupid, others would do their heavy lifting for them. And that proved to be right.
Our European allies — who helped America defeat both Nazi Germany and then Soviet Russia — took all the insults they could stomach from Trump and his confederacy of dunces. Canada‘s prime minister joined in, delivering the most stirring speech of the week from Davos, Switzerland.
The market dropped 900 points, and Trump backed down. But no thanks to the cowards on Capitol Hill.
I understand the Supreme Court majority and Republicans in Congress like the “unitary executive theory,” but what happens when a Democrat is president? Are they really such true believers that they would go along with a Democrat using their power like Trump is? Do they just think a Democrat will never be elected president again?
— Anonymous
If you are asking whether conservative justices on the Supreme Court and Republicans in Congress will be intellectually honest enough to also support expansive powers for a Democratic president, the answer is clearly no.
In my three-plus decades in and around Washington, I have found politicians to have the memory of a goldfish. They believe that because they are in power today, they will be in power forever. They are then shocked when voters kick them to the curb.
I have warned White House officials in both Republican and Democratic parties that they will never own the White House; they can only rent it from the American people.
Sadly, they are so caught up in power that they won’t realize it until their administration has been kicked out of office. Then they will predictably admit to both Mika and me that we were right all along, and that they should have listened to our warnings. They never do.
Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.
What happens if the Trump administration refuses to release the entire Epstein files? How would they be held to account? — Peter D., South Windsor, Conn. Good question. If you look at the collection of political polls that came out this week, it seems like the White House and Republicans are already being held to account by voters. They are getting pounded in the press and in the polls, and it will not improve until they actually start following the law. This summer, 11 American cities will host World Cup games and have thousands of fans roaming the streets that Trump would say “don’t look like us.” What a “gift” to ICE. How will all those FIFA fans protect themselves? — Robert Miller, Hamilton, Ontario A great question, Robert. By the way, we’re proud of your prime minister’s strong stance for freedom and democracy. As a football fan, I have been waiting for the World Cup to come to America for a generation. Now that it will soon be here, the Trump administration is creating such a crisis in the streets of our country that a cloud will likely be hanging over the remarkable event leading up to the summer. Chances are good that the White House will have to radically change its approach toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement — or risk other countries staying away from the World Cup in protest. That is the last thing Mr. FIFA Peace Prize should want. Joe, I never miss the show. I was having a discussion with a patron and a librarian I work with, and we were debating if Boston’s debut album is/was better than Van Halen’s. What say you? — Sally J., Tennessee Sally, I grew up listening to Van Halen, but it is hard to compare many debut albums to what Boston achieved with theirs in 1976. The sound may have been a bit more “solid state” than I usually like, but the songs, performances, and vocals were so extraordinary that its impact on music was immediate. The best news about Boston? The songs have aged so well and still provide great joy every time I listen! “Dancing in the streets of Hyannis …” Solid. Gold. A trolley pushes through the snow and ice brought by the Great Blizzard of 1888 in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital is locking down for another possible blizzard this weekend. That’s all the time we have, folks! Thanks so much for your questions and for reading The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe! Have a great weekend! Joe Next week, musician Amy Grant will join us to discuss her new single “The 6th Of January (Yasgur’s Farm).” Have a question? Ask here, and we may feature your question on the show.
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." Recommended
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CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
