This is the Dec. 10 edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
The president is perfectly fine. Just ask him. He took a cognitive test.
“Person, woman, man, camera, TV.”
In a Truth Social rant last night, Donald Trumpchanneled his best Joseph Stalin, calling The New York Times the “enemy of the people.”
What set him off? A story that he nodded off in last week’s Cabinet meeting. That was enough for him to brand the reporters — who had the facts right — “Enemies of the People.”
It’s worth remembering where that language comes from. After 30 years of show trials and the endless slaughter of Soviet citizens, Nikita Khrushchev condemned Stalin’s cynical use of the term “enemy of the people,” warning that it enabled the “most cruel repression” of political opponents, facts be damned.
But this is America, and Trump would never want violence to befall employees of the Times. Would he?
After calling the reporters “seditious” and “even treasonous,” Trump then shifted into Jan. 6 mode, declaring that because the Times is made up of “true Enemies of the People, we should do something about it.”
Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!
But wait, there’s more. The president’s post then bragged about “taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination,” insisting that “few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times,” and reminding his followers that he “ACED all three of them” in front of numerous unnamed doctors and experts.
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
Trump’s declaration of fitness came days after another clash, when he lashed out at an ABC News reporter for quoting back what he had said just days earlier.
“I never said that,” Trump groused. “Fake news.”
After being reminded that he had, in fact, said that exact thing a few days before, the cognitively perfect president mumbled something about following the Pentagon’s advice.
And then, of course, last night’s Truth Social screed.
Maybe the president was exhausted after traveling to Pennsylvania yesterday for the White House’s carefully crafted Affordability Tour, where Trump proceeded to mock concerns about …affordability,telling members of his audience they were doing better than ever.
After all, are they going to trust Trump or their empty wallets?
No wonder his approval rating has sunk into the 30s.
No wonder Miami elected its first Democratic mayor in almost 30 years.
No wonder Republicans keep getting hammered at the ballot box over affordability while Americans grow increasingly uneasy about their own economic futures.
But Trump is undeterred. He rants on into the night about creating “the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country.”
Nope. Not out of touch at all.
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
“He’s a sleepy son of a bitch who destroyed our country.”
President Donald Trump, seeming to project in the direction of his predecessor, Joe Biden
SOURCE: Politico/Public First, 2,098 U.S. adults online, Nov 14-17
FROM NARCO-TERRORISTS TO DISTRESSED MARINERS
At the top of The New York Times last night: a stunning report about how the Trump administration is quietly repatriating survivors of its Venezuelan “boat strikes.” According to the Times, Trump officials are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent these men — endlessly labeled as “narco‑terrorists” by Trump officials — from entering the U.S. legal system, where their identities and stories could face public scrutiny.
The administration’s workaround, according to multiple officials who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity: quickly sending them back to their home countries before courts or reporters can ask questions, referring to them in some cases as “distressed mariners.”
It’s a revealing twist: Men once branded dangerous enough for lethal first and second strikes are now treated as hapless sailors in need of rescue.
And here’s why that matters: A trial on U.S. soil could undermine the administration’s justification for these attacks — and open the door to war crimes charges. And if they’re not the terrorists Trump claims? Then those war crimes investigations could turn into murder cases.
Real narco‑terrorists would be rushed to the United States and prosecuted for crimes against America. Instead, these men disappear into thin air with the assistance of the very people who tried to kill them at sea just weeks earlier.
All to keep Americans from learning the truth.
EXTRA HOT TEA
TROUBLE IN COAL COUNTRY
While President Trump was onstage last night in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, Miami elected its first Democrat in a generation. Not exactly the split-screen image the campaign dreamed of.
And the political signs aren’t looking much brighter in the Keystone State. Just next door to Mount Pocono — where Trump held his rally at a casino resort — sits the swing county of Luzerne.
Two years ago, Republicans controlled 10 of 11 county commission seats there. After the latest election? They’re down to just three. Vaughn Hillyard was on “Morning Joe” today to report on President Trump‘s speech in Pennsylvania last night. Hillyard, a veteran of covering more than 200 Trump rallies, said the president’s message was more disconnected from the political realities on the ground than he had ever witnessed. Willie Geist: What was the reaction to the president’s speech last night from some of his supporters you spoke to? VH: I’ve covered almost 200 of these speeches over the last 11 years, and this one had the highest cognitive clash I have seen over the course of this Trump era. Mika Brzezinski: Why? VH: Because of the conversations I’ve had over the last 72 hours in this community of 3,000 people in northeastern Pennsylvania. When you ask folks about the economy, health care premiums are skyrocketing, the price of groceries continues to increase, inflation is still where it was when President Biden left office, and they are really concerned. WG: What other concerns did they talk to you about? VH: Wage growth is a big issue here. It has declined, particularly among low-income and middle-class Americans. I was talking to David Metris, a father of two, just yesterday, and he told me he’s having a hard time telling his kids that he can’t get them treats at McDonald’s at the end of the week — because his margins are so tight. MB: Were others equally concerned? VH: Yesterday before the rally started, I went up and down the line of folks going into his rally and asked about the report card they would give this current economy under the Trump administration. WG: How did they grade him? VH: President Trump gives himself an A plus-plus-plus. But I was hearing some B’s, D’s and C’s because the folks in that room are living an experience completely counter to the one that the president was painting last night at the rally. He says this is the golden age of America. It doesn’t feel that way, even to some of his strongest supporters. This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is illuminated in Australia. Australian landmarks are illuminated on the first day of the national under 16 social media ban coming into effect. Today kicks off a bold new social experiment in Australia — or, perhaps more accurately, a social media experiment. In a first-of-its-kind move, the country has banned users under age 16 from creating accounts on 10 popular platforms. The government says the restriction is needed to protect young people from the darker corners of online life: cyberbullying, heightened anxiety and the small but real risk of predatory targeting. The consequences fall squarely on the companies. Platforms that fail to keep underage users out could face fines in the tens of millions of dollars. But kids who sneak on anyway — and the parents who quietly enable them — won’t face penalties at all. And teenagers seem well aware of the loophole. A survey by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. of more than 17,000 Australians under age 16 found most don’t expect the ban to work. Three in four said they would keep using social media regardless. Still, the rest of the world is watching. Several countries are already eyeing Australia’s law as a potential model as they weigh their own limits on youth social media use. In the United States, a Quinnipiac University poll last year found almost 6 in 10 voters would favor a similar ban. MS NOW reached out to the companies behind all 10 affected platforms. Most said they plan to comply. Reddit did, too — though it voiced “deep concerns,” arguing that the rule could “make young people less safe online” and undermine free expression. Australia has taken a dramatic first step. What remains to be seen is whether it sticks — or becomes one more rule teenagers figure out how to get past. Gene Simmons, a founding member of the rock band Kiss, testifies before the United States Senate. Why? Who cares? The dude who sang “Calling Dr. Love” is testifying on Capitol Hill. Next week, actor Simu Liu joins us to discuss his upcoming spy thriller series “The Copenhagen Test.” Want to ask a question? Send it over, and we will pick our favorite to ask on the show! Did you enjoy this newsletter? Let us know what you think.
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again." Recommended
A CONVERSATION WITH VAUGHN HILLYARD
AUSTRALIA LOGS OFF ITS KIDS
ONE LAST SHOT
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
SPILL IT!
