This is the March 13, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
JOE’S NOTE
In the nation’s capital — and across much of the East Coast — the forecast this week has been all over the map: 80 degrees one day, snow the next. Whatever the weather, there’s plenty happening this weekend. Here’s what’s on our radar:
On Sunday, Hollywood’s biggest night returns to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where a stacked lineup of American and international stars will vie for the gold statuette at the 98th Academy Awards. Before the red carpet rolls out, now’s the time to catch up on this year’s nominees.
In New York, the Big East Conference takes over Madison Square Garden for its final games. Georgetown, fresh off an upset of No. 3 Villanova, faces second-seeded UConn tonight.
Across the country, St. Patrick’s Day festivities arrive early. In Philadelphia, shake your shamrocks on Sunday as the city’s 245th St. Patrick’s Day parade winds through the streets with marching bands, Irish dancers, and pipes and drums.
Farther south in Dallas, spring color takes center stage at Dallas Blooms, where rows of azaleas, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths mingle with the season’s first cherry blossoms.
Down along Miami’s waterfront, the GroundUP music festival returns with genre-bending sets and “unexpected combinations of sound.”
And finally, math and pie reunite for one of the country’s most beloved made-up holidays. Pi Day lands this weekend — a good excuse to take the family out for one of the many pie-themed deals on offer.
MAILBAG
Thank you again to all our readers who wrote in this week. As always, you’re welcome to write to us any time.
Why is Trump allowed to spend billions of dollars to build immigrant detention centers, but he will not help Americans with healthcare?
—Anon
If you look at the spending priorities of Project 2025, they have proven to be as disastrous as predicted.
Depositions of former Department of Government Efficiency employees show the level of ignorance, arrogance, and stupidity of Elon Musk and his confederacy of dunces in running DOGE the first few months of President Trump’s second administration.
Not only did they slash funding for the poorest and most vulnerable, but they improperly seized social security numbers and canceled programs often under the mistaken belief that they were DEI-inspired.
DOGE was a disaster, and as I said repeatedly on “Morning Joe,” the cruel and reckless cuts were never going to do anything to bring down the national debt.
As someone who fought hard in Congress for four consecutive years to balance the budget, I knew that Musk attempting to cut the deficit on the backs of the poorest people in America and across the world would cause incalculable suffering and certain death while doing little to take care of the deficit in the national debt.
The same goes for the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed internment camps.
The DHS budget is outrageously bloated, and those detention centers remain extraordinarily unpopular. After piling billions of dollars into Stephen Miller’s misguided mass deportation project, the White House is now telling House Republicans what I have been telling the White House for a year on “Morning Joe”: that these hateful policies are a political dead end.
If they had listened a year ago, there would’ve been far less suffering across America and the world. And the White House’s poll numbers on immigration would’ve been higher than they are today. But they didn’t, so they’re not.
Pride really does come before the fall.
Earlier this week in the Pentagon briefing, Sec. Hegseth referred to “an unbreakable will to accomplish the president’s objectives.” This phrase instantly struck me. Shouldn’t any war accomplish the country’s objectives? Wondering if I’m reading too much into Hegseth’s words.
—Sherri S., Orange, Calif.
The fact that [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth and the rest of Trump’s Cabinet sees the president’s interests as inseparable from those of the United States runs counter to America’s heritage.
The administration’s thinking is more in line with the arrogant world view of King Louis XIV, who declared “L’État, c’est moi”—“I am the State.”
Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned and out of style, but I still believe that America is a nation of laws and not men.
Patriots don’t obsess over what’s in the best interest of their boss. They focus on what is in the best interest of America’s security.
Reasonable people may disagree whether the threat from Iran required American military strikes over the past few weeks. But I fear that Hegseth and the rest of Trump‘s Cabinet will continue focusing more on pleasing the president (while wearing their ill-fitting shoes) than providing Trump with the kind of blunt advice he desperately needs right now.
Since this war could devolve into a quagmire, we need grown-ups running the Pentagon, State Department, and White House more than ever before.
I am not optimistic we have that right now.
The damage of the war is done, at this point it does not even matter if Trump ends the war today. Iran is going to strike us when we least expect it. We need to make everyone prepared, especially with the 250 year anniversary of this country coming up.
—Sylvia M.
Sylvia, U.S. presidents often get America involved in foreign wars that end disastrously when they arrogantly send troops into a battle before thinking through possible military and political blowback. Last week, I wrote about the Weinberger Doctrine and Colin Powell’s fine tuning of Caspar Weinberger’s insights shaped by the tragic lessons of Vietnam. Unfortunately, America went to war in Iran without significant public support, without an exit strategy, and without a strong alliance of like-minded nations. “America First” has once again devolved into “America Alone.” So we best be prepared for the long-term consequences of our military actions. Do you think Ukraine is taking a risk offering to share their drone interception technology with the United States? Considering how well President Trump is known for safeguarding classified material and his close relationship with President Putin, what guarantees would they have that information would not end up in the hands of Russia? —Rick K., Paris, ME. The Ukrainians have made extraordinary strides in helping shape the future of warfare. Their ability to engineer drones that can strike at the Russian front, as well as defend against attacks, has not only kept Putin’s invaders from reaching Kyiv. These drones have actually allowed Ukrainian troops to advance on Russian positions over the past month. Their fight for freedom remains both historic and inspiring, and their offer to help the same American administration that has treated them so shabbily speaks more to the character of their leaders than ours. I am grateful that the Ukrainians want to help. Whatever technology transfers reach Russia will get there too late, because Ukraine’s technological edge improves by the day. Joe, when are you, Pablo, Mike, Jonathan and Willie going to discuss the upcoming baseball season? I’m a Phillies fan. —Judith G., Clinton, MT We need to start very soon! I’m very excited about the upcoming season and can’t wait for opening day at Fenway on April 3. Good luck this year with the Phillies. They have a deep roster and one of the best fan bases in all of baseball. Good luck! As predicted, the incursions in Venezuela and now Iran have lessened the spotlight on the Epstein files. While these international events warrant our attention, the Epstein files must remain the single most important matter deserving of your attention. Please don’t let Trump’s smoke and mirrors diminish that coverage. —K. William T., Overland Park, KS. When will we get it right and cut the head off the snake rather than keep cutting off its tail? This is a crazy mess Trump has got us into, and to now hear the word draft makes me ill. It won’t be Trump’s boys on the front line of this war, it will be our children and grandchildren. Tell me the last time the word “DRAFT” was used. The whole country is going to suffer shaken head syndrome. I just don’t know why such a stupid mistake as going to war with Iran was made. War is war, no matter what you call it. Shameful, shameful, shameful. —Alane M., Salem, Mass. I saw your piece this morning on the new book about mistakes. Here’s what I wrote to my son when he went to college as part of a summary of all I tried to teach him growing up. I titled it, Harry’s 13 Commandments, and here is my advice to him regarding making mistakes in life. Learn from your mistakes. Know first that it is okay to make mistakes, to not be perfect. However, remember two things: 1) never blame others for your mistakes. Admitting mistakes can be liberating. We learn that the world will not end, and people will not stop caring for us because we are not perfect. 2) Never make a mistake without learning from it. Always determine why you made the mistake and how you can make sure you won’t make it again. Making a mistake only shows we are human; repeating the same mistake makes us fools. The biggest mistake you can make after making a mistake is making it worse by not learning from it. —Harry H., Dayton, OH. This week in New Jersey: thousands of snow geese fly north. Loud, chaotic, impossible to ignore — not unlike Washington some days.Recommended
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