Last month, sitting down with them was the coolest thing. Today, they are scum

This is the July 8, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.

“I don’t want to deal with them, but they’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

— President Donald Trump, saying the memorandum of understanding with Tehran is over in his view, after the U.S. and Iran exchanged new strikes

JOE’S NOTE

JD Vance went on CNN last month and called it “the coolest thing” that IRGC officials were willing to sit down with the United States.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that has spent 47 years funding terrorism — killing Americans and our allies.

There is nothing cool about lifting sanctions and allowing $10 billion in oil revenue to flow to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

There is nothing cool about promising Iran $300 billion in reparations — more than Germany had to pay at the end of World War I at Versailles.

There is nothing cool about a memorandum of understanding worth half a trillion dollars that does nothing except let Iran blackmail us with the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the administration lifted sanctions, the State Department warned that the money would be used to fund terrorism and kill Americans. One week later, it lifted the sanctions anyway.

The Obama administration understood that there was no deal until the entire deal was done. You do not give away your leverage in installments and hope the other side honors what remains.

But that is exactly what happened. Donald Trump and Vance negotiated from a position of weakness, and the whole world knew it — as if Americans had somehow forgotten the past 47 years.

Then, overnight, the ceasefire was violated again. U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged military strikes. Trump, from a NATO summit in Turkey, declared the agreement “over” and called the regime’s leaders “scum.”

Last month, sitting down with them was the coolest thing. Today they are scum.

The only thing that changed is that some of the money already went out the door.

WHAT THEY SAID

John Heilemann on Graham Platner

“His vulnerability was apparent to everyone on all sides, and so now we are where we are. I can’t imagine a world where Graham Platner thinks it’s a better future for him to stay on the ballot.”

David Drucker on Democratic divisions

“These divisions are emblematic of the Tea Party era, when the GOP had populists on one side and more establishment, traditionally conservative candidates on the other. We’ll see how this plays out for Democrats — with progressive populists and socialists on the left and traditionally liberal establishment candidates on the other side of the coin.”

Jonathan Lemire on Mitch McConnell’s health

“There’s been a lot of speculation in recent days about Sen. McConnell’s health. We certainly hope he’s doing better, but I don’t think what we heard yesterday will quiet those concerns — not until we see and hear from Sen. McConnell himself.”

Anne Applebaum on NATO

“NATO is one of the most successful alliances in world history. It deterred the Soviet Union, heeded the call to help after 9/11, sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. And for the first time in postwar history, we have a president who doesn’t define himself as the leader of the world’s democracies in a relentlessly self-destructive moment. It’s as if the president is ranting by himself — and everybody is just pretending not to hear him.”