This is the April 8, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I love you, sir.”
— Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche professing his loyalty — and his heart — to President Donald Trump
CHART OF THE DAY
Source: Gallup surveys of approximately 1,000 adults age 15 and older in 132 countries and areas. The margin of sampling error ranges from ±1.2 to ±5.6 percentage points.
ON THIS DATE
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th home run off a 4th-inning pitch from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing — breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 714. Go back in time and see the crowd explode in cheers.
Fun fact: Both Aaron and Downing wore No. 44 jerseys.
Hank Aaron holds the ball from homer No. 715, 1974.
A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID IGNATIUS, DAVID FRENCH AND ADM. JOHN KIRBY
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is holding this morning, even as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains stalled, Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon, and Iranian drones are still hitting targets across the Gulf. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, retired Rear Adm. John Kirby, and New York Times columnist David French joined “Morning Joe” to discuss the durability of the ceasefire, Iran’s leverage, and the path forward.
WG: David Ignatius, after 40 days of war and a last-minute ceasefire, is this a real step toward peace — or just a temporary pause?
DI: There is a sigh of relief felt around the world that we’ve moved from this extraordinary threat to wipe out a civilization to a process of discussion. But the problem is the ambiguity of the two sides’ positions.
MB: Adm. Kirby, how fragile is this moment, and what does it mean right now for shipping and energy?
JK: The first thing is whether the ceasefire holds at all — and that’s an open question. There’s not a great history here, and Iran’s command-and-control systems are not well established after 40 days of war.
The strait may be open, but it will be restricted, and that will affect the flow of oil. Before this war, ships moved freely. Now Iran has more control, and that changes the equation.
WG: Jonathan Lemire, has Iran come out of this with more leverage, especially over the Strait of Hormuz?
JL: Iran has increased their control over the Strait of Hormuz and has now learned that they can turn that spigot on and off. That gives them an extraordinary amount of leverage over the world’s energy supply.
WG: David Ignatius, what does this do to America’s standing in the world?
DI: Countries will come away relieved, but less confident that America has a clear strategic direction.
MB: David French, how much did the president’s inflammatory 11th-hour rhetoric matter?
Recommended
DF: The man wasn’t just threatening war crimes — he was threatening actions that would constitute crimes against humanity. This is a stain on the United States of America.
WG: Adm. Kirby, what’s the best-case scenario from here? What does a successful outcome actually look like?
JK: The best outcome would be a stable regime that is responsible and responsive to the needs of the Iranian people. But I’m pessimistic — I’m not seeing signs of that right now.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
STANDING WITH SURVIVORS, SITTING ON 37 PAGES
President Donald Trump marked National Sexual Assault Awareness Month yesterday with a pledge to “stand with every survivor of sexual assault”” and to never stop until “every sexual predator is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The same president has called the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — the still-unresolved sex trafficking scandal implicating some of the most powerful men in the world — a hoax, urging Americans to “move on.”
His Justice Department obliged, releasing the files only intermittently and defying bipartisan calls for full disclosure. After news organizations, including MS NOW, discovered dozens of pages missing, the DOJ produced additional documents — but 37 remain missing, including files related to uncorroborated allegations that Trump had sexually abused a minor, an allegation he denies.
“I think it’s really time for the country to get on to something else, now that nothing came out about me,” Trump told reporters in February.
Thirty-seven pages disagree.
EXTRA HOT TEA
$170 million
— The stakes placed on a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran on Polymarket — as analysts investigate possible insider trading and bettors battle over what exactly constitutes a ceasefire, per Bloomberg. Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ONE MORE SHOT
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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."