The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: ‘Can’t he just behave like a normal human?’

This is the April 9, 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 am sick of this shit. Can’t he just behave like a normal human?”

—Right-wing podcaster Megyn Kelly on the president’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization.

The U.S.-Iran ceasefire is barely 48 hours old — and already under strain. Israel is striking Lebanon. Iran is tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer, Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass, and MS NOW senior national security reporter David Rohde joined “Morning Joe” today to discuss what’s at stake as Washington and Tehran prepare to meet face-to-face this weekend — for the first time since 1979.

JS: Ian Bremmer, where are we seeing real friction between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump — and what does that mean for this ceasefire?

IB: There’s no question that while the United States and Israel are broadly aligned in their regional goals, there are major areas where they are not — particularly when it comes to a ceasefire in Lebanon. That escalation is happening in real time.

Bibi would very much like to see this ceasefire fall apart. His preference is for Iran to make the next move, allowing the United States to say, “We tried,” and remain engaged in the conflict.

Mike Barnicle: And at the same time, Iran is tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. How much leverage does that give them?

IB: It’s significant. Some countries are already willing to pay to move oil through the strait, and ships are getting through because of it. In a high-price environment, that calculation makes economic sense.

The broader concern is this: The United States has a highly credible military, but limited tolerance for sustained economic and political pressure. That’s not a perception you want adversaries, or even allies, to have.

WG: So is this becoming a case of tactical success but strategic weakness?

IB: In many ways, yes. Militarily, the United States is formidable — no one is eager to challenge that. But politically and economically, there are clear limits to how much pressure the system can absorb, and that shapes how others respond.

Mika Brzezinski: Richard Haass, what should the U.S. be doing differently?

RH: We should be pushing back much more firmly against Israeli actions in Lebanon. Those operations are not existential, and they risk escalating the situation unnecessarily.

At the same time, we need to be realistic in negotiations. If the U.S. position is that Iran can have zero nuclear activity, then there is unlikely to be any agreement at all.

WG: David Rohde, there seems to be real confusion right now about what this ceasefire actually is and what the terms even are. What are you seeing?

DR: Within hours of the ceasefire, Iran asserted its leverage by effectively controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz. That shows how quickly the balance has shifted. It also raises real concerns about competence — particularly whether the president is getting clear, candid advice at a moment like this.

The reality is there are multiple actors involved here, and they’re not all aligned with the agreement the United States announced.

JS: So Richard, where does that leave the United States right now?

RH: After five weeks of war, we are objectively worse off — whether you look at the Strait of Hormuz or the nuclear issue. The regime in Iran is more entrenched and arguably more hardline. And we’re likely to leave this region more unstable, with Iran holding more strategic influence, not less.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

CHART OF THE DAY

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

ON THIS DATE

On April 9, 1962, Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno became the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar, taking home the award for best supporting actress for her role as Anita in “West Side Story.” Her acceptance speech lasted a mere 7 seconds: “I can’t believe it. Good Lord! I leave you with that.”

WAR AND A PIECE OF THE ACTION?

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg via Getty Images

Prediction markets let you bet on almost anything, from where Taylor Swift will get married to who will next play James Bond, fueling an explosion in popularity for sites such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

But questions have been raised about insider trading on their platforms.

An anonymous Polymarket user netted more than $400,000 betting on former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s January ouster. A New York Times analysis found at least 16 Polymarket accounts each made more than $100,000 predicting the U.S. attack on Iran — hours before it happened.

And an Associated Press analysis found hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits from well-timed Polymarket bets correctly predicting a ceasefire in Iran.

Polymarket did not respond to MS NOW or to the AP. Both platforms said they prohibit insider trading — though only Kalshi said it has banned the practice outright.

For now, the bets keep coming.