This is the April 15, 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

“It’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”

— Vice President JD Vance rebuking Pope Leo XIV over his criticism of U.S. foreign policy 

CHART OF THE DAY

Source: IRS, National Retail Federation

ON THIS DATE

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, killing some 1,500 of the approximately 2,200 people on board — with the crew and third-class passengers suffering the greatest losses.

Pictured above: Brothers Edmond and Michel Navratil — the “Titanic Orphans” — reunited with their mother after escaping by lifeboat. Their father perished in the disaster. Michel became the last surviving male passenger of the Titanic. 

A CONVERSATION WITH KIM GHATTAS

Israel and Lebanon held direct talks this week in Washington for the first time in more than 30 years, even as fighting continues without a ceasefire in place. Financial Times contributing editor Kim Ghattas joined “Morning Joe” from Beirut to discuss how the U.S.-brokered effort fits into a broader push to counter Iran — and what it means for a conflict with no clear endgame.

JS: How significant is it that Lebanon is in the room for these negotiations right now?

KG: What’s different is that Lebanon is participating in these talks in its own name — not under Syrian control or more recent Iranian pressure. It matters that Lebanon is showing up as a sovereign country, to the extent that it can. It’s controversial to negotiate under fire, but the key point is that Lebanon is at the table and not on the menu.

JS: You’ve been talking to people on the ground. What are you hearing about the impact of Israeli strikes?

KG: The civilian casualties are piling up. We had a day of carnage in Beirut — 100 strikes in 10 minutes in a country the size of Connecticut. Friends have lost parents. Apartment buildings have been hit. It’s been really devastating, especially for a country that has already been through so much over the last few years. There’s a growing sense that trying to degrade or decapitate Hezbollah is an endless task without politics and diplomacy to accompany it.

JS: So where does that leave Lebanon caught right now?

KG: Lebanon feels very much stuck between the Israeli bombing campaign and Iran holding on to Hezbollah as one of its key negotiating cards in the region. That’s the squeeze.

The concern is that Israel is not going to stop striking the country, and the Lebanese government may risk being seen as giving cover to those strikes — a very difficult balance to manage.

JS: What do the latest U.S. troop deployments to the region tell you about where this is heading?

KG: The fact that more U.S. troops are going to the region is an indicator that war could resume. When Donald Trump says it could be over — or almost over — it’s not quite clear. Regional allies are telling the U.S. to “finish the job,” but they’re also worried the blockade could push Iran to close another choke point — not just the Strait of Hormuz, but also Bab al-Mandeb into the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

JS: Where does that leave Iran right now?

KG: Iran is in a tighter, more difficult position than it’s letting on. The economic pressure will be significant — even if they have reserves, it will hurt their civilian population. And if the military campaign calms down, we could see protests. So this is a very tricky moment.

Wars are judged not by how they begin, but how they end — and right now it looks like a bit of a mess. We’re in an interregnum where it’s not clear which way it’s going. America cannot declare victory at the moment, but frankly neither can Iran.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity and brevity. 

CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY GROWING ON CAPITOL HILL

The resignations of Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales this week have forced an uncomfortable question onto Capitol Hill: Does Congress have a sexual misconduct problem — and is it equipped to address it?

MS NOW spoke with Brittany Martinez, a former staffer for House GOP leadership, who said the fear of reporting runs deep — in part because congressional offices handle many of the allegations themselves. “Oftentimes the person that you’re having to report to is probably the person you’re having to report on,” she said.

Party loyalty, she added, makes it worse. “There probably is a little bit of a culture of, like, ‘this person might be doing a bad thing, but they’re on my team — so we’re going to try to let it slide.’”

Calls for new protections are now growing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he is “certainly open to” better ways to deliver recourse and relief to victims.

EXTRA HOT TEA

$776

— The additional amount the average American household will pay this year due to higher gas prices, per Stanford University economists. That’s $28 more than the average tax refund increase the Tax Foundation estimates the average household will get by the end of filing season ($748) — wiping it out entirely.

ONE MORE SHOT

President Trump ordered McDonald’s to the White House earlier this week — not the first time his relationship with the fast-food chain has made headlines. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once offered this assessment of the president’s diet: “He eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and candy and Diet Coke … he has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is.”

CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE

The post The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: ‘Wars are judged not by how they begin, but how they end’ appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.