This is the March 11, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“He ran on no more wars and these stupid, senseless wars, and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it.”
— Podcaster Joe Rogan on President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on Iran
CHART OF THE DAY
ON THIS DATE
In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry made history with the premiere of “A Raisin in the Sun,” the first Broadway play written and produced by a Black woman. The drama follows a Black working-class family in Chicago. Here, Hansberry sits for a set of portraits in her New York City apartment.
A CONVERSATION WITH JAKE SULLIVAN
Almost two weeks into the war with Iran, energy markets are on edge and questions are growing about how the conflict ends. Former Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan joined “Morning Joe” to discuss the risks of escalation and what comes next.
MB: Jake, what options are on the table right now with Iran — and what concerns you most?
JS: My biggest concern is the sheer lack of planning and thinking through all of the second- and third-order consequences here.
When you sit in the Situation Room before the president decides to send U.S. men and women into harm’s way and war, you have to answer two questions: First, what are our objectives? And second, what is our enemy going to do in response to our attack?
It was obvious from the outset that Iran would threaten the Strait of Hormuz, shutting down energy supply to the world and trying to drive up gas prices for ordinary Americans. And yet, nearly two weeks into this war, we seem befuddled by the fact that they have done just that — and we have no answers for how to respond.
Scarborough: Let’s talk about the best-case scenario. If the White House manages to land this operation, what would success look like?
JS: The most positive thing you can say is that we’ve made some tactical operational gains because we have a very effective military. Iran’s conventional capabilities — its ballistic missiles, drones, and elements of its armed forces — have been significantly degraded.
But the real question is what happens next. Where are we a year or two from now as Iran tries to build back up?
WG: You dealt with the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy when you were in government. Given where things stand right now, what is the most realistic path to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon?
JS: Fundamentally, the only way to have real confidence over the long term that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon is through some form of diplomacy.
We need inspectors on the ground, and we need Iran to agree to allow those inspectors in. Because without that ability to verify, we simply can’t be certain about what Iran is up to with its nuclear program.
Scarborough: If you were sitting with the president this morning, what would you advise?
JS: I would say it’s time to take an off-ramp, to get out of this war. We’ve achieved some operational tactical objectives, and now we need to limit the potential consequences of having this turn into an open-ended regime change war that drags the United States deeper and deeper in.
KK: Jake, lay out the downside here plainly. Has this operation actually made the United States safer?
JS: I do not believe that this has made America safer. Strategically, it has so far been a huge setback for the United States.
We’ve chosen to launch a war of choice with no imminent threat — and that degrades America’s overall capacity for global leadership.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.
MARCO STRUGGLES TO WALK A MILE IN THE PRESIDENT’S SHOES
Online sleuths keep unearthing “Shoegate” photos suggesting that Cabinet members will wear wildly ill-fitting shoes gifted to them by President Trump, lest they be seen as insulting his taste in Florsheim shoes.
Here, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is captured in a photo yesterday wearing shoes a bit too generous for the feet of a man Trump once referred to as “Liddle Marco.”
NEXT STOP, CUBA?
As the war with Iran rages across the Middle East, President Donald Trump has set his sights on a new target: Cuba.
On Monday, the president floated the idea of a “takeover” of the communist island — nearly seven decades after Fidel Castro’s revolution reshaped the country and put it on a long collision course with Washington.
The timing could hardly be worse for Havana. Cubans are already facing soaring inflation, rolling blackouts, and a worsening energy crisis. The island remains squeezed by the decades-old U.S. embargo and has lost access to Venezuelan oil following the recent capture of longtime strongman Nicolás Maduro by American special forces.
EXTRA HOT TEA
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history by scoring 83 points in a 150-129 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Adebayo surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game and trails only Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary 100-point performance in 1962.
ONE MORE SHOT
A “Titanic”-themed satirical statue of President Donald Trump and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the National Mall on March 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The statue was placed by anonymous artists who also erected one of Trump and Epstein holding hands, titled “Best Friends Forever,” last fall.
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