This is the June 15, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
JOE’S NOTE
Meet the new deal. Same as the old deal.
Donald Trump called the Obama nuclear deal the worst plan ever made. He said it would hand Iran a nuclear weapon. Republicans melted down over it for years.
Here’s what Barack Obama’s 2015 agreement said:
Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.
And here’s what Trump’s version reportedly says:
Iran agrees that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons.
The language is nearly identical. If anything, Trump’s version asks for less.
Trump promised the Strait of Hormuz would be open forever, for free.
Now the Iranians are saying there will be a 60-day period before they expect to start collecting tolls.
Trump said there would be regime change.
Now he says he doesn’t care. And the regime still standing is tougher than the one before.
The Trump team told me that giving sanctions relief to the Iranians was the worst thing Joe Biden ever did.
And now, Iran apparently expects $25 billion in frozen assets and reconstruction money from Washington.
Mark Halperin of Wide World of News asks the question nobody wants to answer: If this is such a great deal for America and Israel, why did Iran agree to it?
I’m praying for peace. For American workers who have been struggling so terribly, with spiking prices at the grocery store and the gas pump. For the Iranian people, who have suffered so much.
But if there’s one thing future presidents should understand, it’s this: You can win a war militarily and lose it politically.
That was the lesson of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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And now, regardless of how Trump wants to spin it, it’s the lesson of Iran.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“$100 billion of taxpayer money … 14 Americans dead, and we get a deal that just reopens the strait that was already open before he started the war? How is that a win?”
—
Rep. Seth Moulton, (D-Mass.), House Armed Services Committee
CHART OF THE DAY
MS NOW
ON THIS DATE
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected gay, lesbian, and transgender people from employment discrimination — a landmark victory that plaintiffs Don Zarda and Aimee Stephens did not live to see.
WHAT THEY SAID
RICHARD HAASS ON NEW YORK’S KNICKS CELEBRATIONS
“Tens of thousands of watch parties broke out into spontaneous celebrations — strangers, people you’ve never talked to, much less touched or danced with. It was 53 years coming for me, a big chunk of my life, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
KATTY KAY ON THE IRAN DEAL
“The [Obama-era] JCPOA took 20 months to negotiate because they didn’t want to leave anything to chance. There has to be a much more detailed agreement — with a focus on the inspection of Iran’s nuclear enrichment. Otherwise, this is just wishful thinking.”
JON MEACHAM ON HABEAS CORPUS
“This is the nightmare scenario. Nationalism is allegiance to your own kind; patriotism is allegiance to a creed. A nationalistic agenda combined with the power of the federal government requires restraint. The American system depends on it.”
REV. AL SHARPTON ON ICE AT THE POLLS
“Don’t let this tactic scare you — even if that’s actually what they intend. Some people say, ‘I’d rather not get involved.’ I say if you don’t get involved, we’re going to end up with four more years of this. This is what we fought for.”
16
— The age of children across the United Kingdom who can now legally access social media apps like Snapchat and TikTok. The government has banned younger children from using the apps, to shield them from harmful content and doomscrolling.
ONE MORE SHOT
Livano Comenencia of Curaçao celebrates scoring Curaçao’s first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup match, against Germany. The island nation is the smallest by land size (171 square miles) and population (approximately 158,000) to qualify for the tournament.
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