The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: ‘We should take over the voting’

This is the Feb. 3, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Savannah Guthrie has been a dear friend for well over a decade. She was an early and frequent guest on “Morning Joe,” and she even stepped in to co-host with me on days when Mika was off.

We’ve remained close through the years, and Savannah has always been remarkably generous with her time, her kindness, and her support. 

She also has a deep faith in God, one that comes from the same place as mine. She’s one of the rare people I know in media who responds to my quoting “Holy, Holy, Holy” by saying “Hymn No. 1!” — right where it belongs in the Baptist Hymnal.

Today, Savannah and her family are having to lean hard on that faith as they endure an unimaginable tragedy. Police believe her beloved mother, Nancy, who is 84, was abducted Saturday night from her Arizona home.

Nancy is sharp as a tack, but she has physical limitations that would have made it impossible for her to leave her home on her own. She also relies on daily medication she cannot safely go without, adding an agonizing urgency to these hours.

In an Instagram post, Savannah asked for prayers. “We believe in prayer,” she wrote. “We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.”

Mika and I know what it means to love our mothers deeply — to watch over them, to worry about them, and to hold them close as time moves forward. What Savannah is facing right now is something no family should ever have to endure.

We join the entire “Morning Joe” family in sending our love, prayers, and steadfast support to the Guthries.

May God watch over them — and bring Nancy home.

“We should take over the voting.”

— President Donald Trump, telling Republicans they should seize control of the 2026 election despite the U.S. Constitution giving that power to states

States run elections, not presidents who are scared their party is going to lose. 

Watch Joe’s takedown of Trump’s latest lies about voter fraud.

SNOW DROUGHT HITS WEST

A CONVERSATION WITH BILL MAHER

Bill Maher just launched the 24th season — a rare run in television — of his show, “Real Time with Bill Maher.” Joe sat down with the comedian and talked about wokeness, the evolution of late-night television, and why engaging with Donald Trump, even when it’s uncomfortable, still matters. 

JS: When we were growing up, most comedians were left-wing. 

BM: I still am. 

JS: In 2018, you started speaking out against wokeness and suddenly became a draw for conservatives. What happened? 

BM: Things changed. Wokeness came along. 

JS: What’s your take on comedians following your lead, but clumsily lurching so far right that they start praising Nick Fuentes?

BM: The difference is that I’m actually a political comedian. Some of these people are just trolling and don’t really follow politics that closely. 

JS: How long have you followed the news?

BM: I was steeped in politics as a kid. My father was a newsman. The New York Times was on the breakfast table every day, and I didn’t have to ask the difference between Iranian Shiites or Sunnis.

JS: When you first started mixing comedy and politics, did people warn you it wouldn’t work? How has that changed over time? 

BM: It’s ironic — when I was on “Politically Incorrect,” everybody said you can’t do a show where the host has political opinions because you’ll alienate half the crowd. Carson, Letterman, Leno — they were down the middle. But I shared my opinion on everything. 

And then it completely reversed. Now you have to be political, and the late-night shows just speak to one half [of] the country. 

JS: Johnny Carson always said the secret to success is in the Central time zone. How did you think about that audience? 

BM: I wouldn’t pander. I’m just going to speak honestly about what I think and resonate with people across the country and across political persuasions. 

I read the polls — 27% identify as Republican, 27% as Democrat, and 45% as independent. There are obviously a lot of people who don’t like the extremes. I don’t like the extremes either, unless the extreme is what actually makes sense.

JS: Who were your biggest influences? 

BM: Johnny Carson was my biggest hero. He was on every night, it was late, and I had to sneak to watch him. 

JS: I try to explain this to my kids. It was magic. What did he represent to you? 

BM: I was about 12 when I started watching. He wasn’t just funny — as a boy turning into a man, you looked at Johnny Carson and thought, this is the kind of man I want to be. Sophisticated. Mischievous. Gracious. Girls liked him. But you could tell he was no pushover and knew how to have fun. I loved him in every way.

JS: Stand-up is so exposing — you’re naked in front of an audience. What was it like the first time you stepped onstage?

BM: It’s brutal. My first two years out of college, when I lived in New York and was trying to be a comedian, my life just sucked. You’re going onstage — if you get on — at 2 in the morning, in front of a couple of drunks. It doesn’t make you want to do it the next night. 

JS: How do you keep doing it? What pushed you up there?

BM: Just fumes. The occasional line of encouragement from an older comedian meant the world. I didn’t want to lose in life. This is what I had picked, and I had to make it work. 

JS: Was there a moment when you thought, I might actually be able to do this?

BM: June 20, 1980. I did 20 minutes in front of a hot crowd, and they laughed the whole time.

If you can do 20 minutes in a comedy club, you can make a living forever. It doesn’t guarantee a career, but you’re on the raft — you’re not flailing in the sea anymore. 

JS: You’ve followed politics your whole life. Are you discouraged about where the country is now?

BM: Yes. It’s very discouraging and scary. We both talk to the president, and for some people that makes us evil. But he is the president of the United States. What’s the alternative?

JS: When people say engaging him only elevates him, how do you respond?

BM: How do you elevate someone who’s already president?

I judge a lot of what he’s done terribly — DOGE, the Pentagon budget, the constant talk of treason and the death penalty, everything with ICE. But there’s also a shorter list of things I don’t hate — bombing Iran, the Middle East peace deal, getting the hostages out.

JS: Trump can be a very charming guy. What has your personal experience with him been like?

BM: He listens. He’s not the worst guy in the world, except when he’s in a fight. Unfortunately, politics is all about fighting. When he gets into one, he’s like a guy in a bar — he picks up whatever he has and doesn’t stop. 

That’s why he needs more people like you and me talking to him, not less. He doesn’t have a lot of fixed beliefs. If you don’t talk to him, nothing gets through. If you do, some of it might. He actually likes discussion, and I think he’s bored with the ass-kissers around him.

CLINTONS AGREE TO TESTIFY IN EPSTEIN PROBE

Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, after months of resisting its subpoenas. Their reversal comes just days before an expected House vote on bipartisan resolutions to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress — though the committee’s Republican chairman rejected the offer. 

Bill Clinton appears repeatedly in Epstein-related records, including flight logs showing travel on Epstein’s plane, known as the Lolita Express, and a photograph of him swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The former president has never been charged with any crime connected to Epstein and has denied any wrongdoing.

EXTRA HOT TEA

Crying Horse Gallops Past Labubu

Last year’s rage has yielded the spotlight to a $3.60 stuffed horse that is a symbol of Gen Z angst. 

Crying Horse has become a runaway hit and mascot for younger workers in China. Launched during the Year of the Horse, the moping plushie is meant to represent the opposite of its zodiac counterpart, which symbolizes ambition and burning intensity. 

The hashtag “crying horse” has appeared 190 million times on the Chinese version of TikTok.  

As for poor Labubu, last year’s model is quickly becoming as passé as the leisure suit and the Pet Rock. 

Fare thee well, Labubu. We hardly knew ye.

ONE MORE SHOT

SPILL IT!

This week, actor Ian McKellan will join us to discuss his new play, “The Ark.” 

Have a question? Ask here, and we may feature your question on the show.

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