Morning Joe - Is Mamdani the new "Kingmaker", U.S. and Iran continue making conflicting claims about the state of negotiations

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

June 24, 2026 - 6am: Mamdani allies sweep New York House Primaries The U.S. and Iran continue making conflicting claims about the state of negotiations Russia is accusing the U.S. of abandoning its role as a neutral broker in the war in Ukraine.  Trump holds campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So we'll be working on a parallel effort with the Gulf nations to address non-nuclear issues, such as the conventional ballistic missiles, which we'll be talking about, and support them. I mean, they have to have some because other people have some. You've got to have some. Sir, you shouldn't let them have any missile. I said, well, what am I going to do? Are they going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can't have them? Yes, sir.

It doesn't work that way, you know? It doesn't work that. And missiles aren't the problem. Missiles are, they hurt a little location, but they don't blow up the planet. We're leaving Iran with no Navy, no Air Force, no anti-aircraft, no missile capability, no nuclear program. We're leaving them without any nuclear capacity, and they've agreed to that. And we're getting along quite well, although if you read the fake news, you never know. Think of it.

The fake news, they have no arms. They have no Navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft. We can fly over to Iran just at will. Nobody going to do anything to us. President Trump with a very different message to a crowd in Pennsylvania yesterday, just days after he suggested Iran should have ballistic missiles because other countries in the Middle East had them. We'll have more from his campaign style rally as well as the latest on where negotiations stand with Iran. Plus, we'll go through the Pentagon reversing its optional vaccine policy after a major outbreak at an Air Force base in Texas. That didn't last long, did it, Pete? No, not very long at all. Some ideas are so stupid that even they have to reverse them.

Yes, good morning, and welcome to morning, Joe. It is Wednesday, June 24th. Good to have you all with us this morning. The slate of progressive candidates in New York City, backed by Mayor Zaran Mamdani, swept. primary elections yesterday topping establishment-backed Democrats and ousting two incumbent congressmen. That includes the city's 10th district where former city comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander defeated incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman in a race where Israel's war in Gaza became a top issue. And in the 13th district, Daria Liza Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Congressman Adriano Espayat.

Outside of Mamdani endorsed candidates in the 12th District, state assemblymen and former aid to New York Governor Kathy Hokel, Michael Lashir came out on top of an eight-way race that saw artificial intelligence industry giants spend tens of millions of dollars trying to influence the outcome. And in the 17th District, National Security expert in combat veteran Kay Conley won the Democratic nomination for a candidate. key swing seat that could help determine control of the House in November. Her victory sets up a showdown with Hudson Valley Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who has tried to balance moderate policy positions while also defending President Trump. And one notable result from South Carolina in that state's first congressional district, former Navy Admiral, fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hexoff, won the Democratic nomination in the race to fill Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace's seat. You know, Willie, it's, it's, it's so, I think it's funny. I think it's funny because it's going to allow other news channels.

It's going to allow people on their little podcast today. It's going to allow everybody to go, oh, they're going to look at New York City and go, oh, the Democratic Party is so far left. I actually saw one guy who's fairly respected, had the nerve to say, oh, well, this just proves that if you're the Democratic Party, you have to be crazy to win. I'm thinking, wait, this from Trump's MAGA Republican Party? But, you know, they're going to focus on New York City, and they're going to ignore the Admiral winning in South Carolina, a woman who's committed her entire life to protecting and defending the United States of America. They're also going to ignore a woman just up the road that's going to be running against Mike Lord. who was a bronze star three times, was awarded the bronze star three times.

She was Special Ops, one of the first women to ever lead, special ops units. She toured Afghanistan and Iraq had six tours there. A bona fide war hero. And this is, I've got to say, this is what the Democrats are proving themselves to be really pragmatic. If you look at what they did last night, New York City, they go far, far left. That'll work for New York City. In places like Lawler's District, which is a swing district, South Carolina one swing district, finding these military heroes, much like they did with the New Jersey race, Mikey Cheryl.

And in Virginia, Spamberger, while they were electing a socialist in New York City, Mom Donnie. It worked then. We'll see if it works this fall. Yeah, these are congressional. races. These are not statewide races. So it's not terribly surprising that someone, to the far left, won the Upper West Side or one areas of Brooklyn. It is impressive that Mayor Mamdani in his short-term in office was able to sort of bless these candidates and some of them winning overwhelmingly and unseating incumbents. Dan Goldman losing by 30 points in his district,

the incumbent and Congressman Espiat, who is a major figure, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the leader of that caucus as well. He was unseeded. in a closer race there. So yes, as the New York Times says this morning, Mombani showed he can be a kingmaker, but to make this a national story and not look at what you just discussed, which is the race up in Westchester County where Mike Lawler is going to have a tough fight because a lot of the support he's shown for Donald Trump and in South Carolina and other places where it turns out, Jonathan Lemire, in specific congressional districts, Democrats pick candidates that they think can win. In this case, in New York City, some of those were socialists.

Yeah, and Democrats feel good in recent cycles since the 24 disaster about finding the right candidates for the right races. I was talking to some Democrats yesterday who reminded us as we look towards this November the success that Democrats had running moderates for the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. They won vote. But yet, and we're seeing the same there in South Carolina, they feel very bullish about a lot of races coming up this fall. But yes, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. And in New York City, certainly, that's the story here, is Zohran Mamdani, you know, in his early days in office, having significant coattails being a kingmaker and picking off, you're choosing Joe to use his political capital to pick off some incumbents to put in some of his sort of like-minded fellow travelers more to the left than others. I mean, Dan Goldman has a record that a lot of Democrats pretty happy with, with the exception of some of the support for Israel in the months after. the war. And also there's also here in New York, there's sort of the, the Latino political machine also showing its age. I think that's part of it as well. That's a subplot to what happened here.

But no doubt, what worked in New York City, Democrats aren't trying to replicate it other places. It's not one size fits all. Yeah, you know, a lot of things going on here. And Jonathan is we're going to have you put on your daily news hat here. I personally thought when Mom Dani came out and endorsed all these people, I thought, too soon. Because even if you win in those cases, and he did, and he should be saluted, it's extraordinary political machine there. And he's going to build a lot of power as a kingmaker in New York City. A lot of scar tissue when you're mayor of New York City with a lot of people,

even if you win those races. But he's proven himself to be a brilliant political operator. I'm sure he'll swore through that. I just, I just, you know, hearing a lot of people say, talking about the anti-Semitism in New York City and last night proved the anti-Semitism in New York City and this is Mom Donnie's fault. This is so-and-so's fault. It's this is this left. No, no, no. It's not. It's really not. If you want to blame anybody for what happened last night, my opinion, if you want to blame anybody, Jonathan, I think you have to blame Benjamin that in Yahoo.

Four years of maximalist aims, four years of a historic goals in the Middle East, than anybody, Anybody from Dr. Prasinski to even me could have told anybody over the past 20 years. It's not going to work. And I've said it all along. There's always blowback in the Middle East. The idea that you're going to be able to brutalize children and women in Gaza with bombing that looks indiscriminate on TV day in and day out for years, that you're going to be able to level half of Lebanon, that you're going to be able to continue to allow thugs to run wild in the West Bank.

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and Christians in Bethlehem brutalizing, uh, Christians across that area along with the Palestinian Muslims, especially of these people who were so shocked that Israel is in such low standing in America right now. Forgive me for a quick digression. But I was always instinctively pro-Israeli, an anti-Palestinian growing up. You know why? Because when I was a young child, one of my first memories was the 72 Munich Olympics. When Palestinian terrorists killed Israelis, and it was shocking.

saw time and time began terror attacks throughout the 70s. That shaped an entire generation's views on that conflict. Well, what's shaping the views now? Images out of Gaza. Images out of the West Bank. Images out of Lebanon. Famine out of God. And an American president who tells Netanyahu go. You're unrestraint until his war in Iran goes horribly wrong. So you can blame all of this on Benjamin Netanyahu. And yes, if you go back to the horrors of October 7th, blame the funding for that on Benjamin Netanyahu as well because he forced the Qataris to continue funding Hamas weeks before the October 7th attack.

So again, everybody's going to want to blame somebody else for this. the guy on the left is the reason why Israel's standing not only in New York City but across America is lower than it has been since 1948 and you're starting to see that in elections not only on the far left but on the four right. Yeah, what you just said there about Netanyahu being the central figure is precisely what I was texting with some New York derogic operatives last night. First of all, yes, the people on the right like to blame. Mammani. They like to say there's a culture of anti-Semitism here and people can have their own opinions. That's not what this was about. Brandtlander, of course, Jewish himself. This is about the

support for Israel and the conduct of that war. Dan Goldman, this shows you how toxic it is. Dan Goldman, as of late 2024, was also running away from it since denounced it and said, this has gone too far, tried to move away from his position that had initially been supportive, but that shows you just how toxic Bibi and his Netanyahu and his conduct of the war has been, where he couldn't overcome that. And Lander, who had been far more critical, was able to win. So that is a big piece of the story here in New York. And yeah, and then the Maldani Coatails is the other element here.

There's no question that the Netanyahu stuff, Joe and Mika, loomed large in that race, perhaps more than any other factor. And we'll see how that plays out going forward. Because as a final thought, I had conversations last night with some Democrats about other races coming up this fall and in 2028. And there's no doubt that the Netanyahu's. Yahoo stuff looms large, as long as he's in power. Once he's out, that could change things. But the conduct of that war in Gaza is going to be a fundamental issue for Democrats for years to come. We're going to turn now to Iran. The United States and Iran continue to make conflicting claims about the state of the negotiations.

On the issue of nuclear inspections, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday, there are no plans to allow inspectors to access nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. last year. That stands in contrast to comments yesterday from President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, who earlier this week asserted otherwise. They're wrong. They know they're wrong. They told us inside and we have it down 100% inspections. And if they were right, I'd cancel the meetings right now. The IAEA chief said of the inspections today this is going to happen. The two sides are also publicly at odds on the issue of frozen assets. The Trump administration is claiming that the billions of dollars in Iranian assets that would be unfrozen under the deal would be used to buy American products.

Iran, however, once again, is pushing back with the country's foreign ministry spokesmen saying yesterday, the assets can be used freely by Iran in whatever manner it deems appropriate. And Joe, J.D. Vance, on our air yesterday morning live saying all these things were part of the foundation of a deal. deal. It's not a foundation if the Iranians completely disagree with you. It's just an assertion. Well, and I must read in the New York Times this morning by David Sanger, David said that whenever you're talking about negotiations between Iran and the United States, there's one line to always remember. Nothing is agreed to, nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon. That's why it's so insane that we're releasing money already, that we're already lifting. sanctions. That's insane until you actually get the Iranians who were the toughest negotiators

on earth. They just are. Until you get the Iranians to agree on an entire package. On the same point. Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And this is happening for a lot of different reasons. There are a lot of factions in the United States. There are people on the right that don't want this to happen. You have people in Iran. Again, a multi-layered governmental structure still that are going to be critical of a deal. So nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. So the idea that we start giving the Iranians the ability to make tens of billions of dollars on oil revenue is insanity.

And J.D. Vance made those comments Monday morning on our show. I got the dates mixed up. Let's bring him writer at large for the New York Times, Elizabeth Bue Miller and senior writer at the dispatch and columnist at Bloomberg opinion, David Drucker. Also with us, editor at the insider, Michael Weiss. Good to have you all with us. Michael, this is one of those weeks when decades happen. And I'd love to talk to you about Ukraine and everything that's moving there because it is.

It is dizzying, including Donald Trump, maybe starting to like those Ukrainians a bit more. He does like winners. But let's talk first about what happened yesterday. We're giving billions and billions of dollars to the Iranians, lifting sanctions. for the first time in a very long time. And yet the Iranians spent all day yesterday on three items, contradicting everything Donald Trump had said. Talk about it.

Yeah, I mean, look, whether or not the Iranians are telling the truth or just trying to maximize this for propaganda value, it just shows yet again they see themselves as in the driver's seat, right? I mean, they're in control of the Strait of Hormuz. They put out a statement with the Omani government suggesting that they are indeed going to charge tolls or some kind of administrative fees on tankers that are bypassing that waterway in contravention to what the U.S. administration is saying. You know, they sprinkle cold water on J.D. Vance's comments

about nuclear inspectors. You know, at every turn, they want to suggest that they hold the cards. They are the superior party in these negotiations. And, you know, I've been talking to a lot of Republicans on the Hill about how they feel about this memorandum of understanding. And there's two different schools of thought. One, there's resignation. Trump controls the party in Congress, and they're basically going to have to roll over and do whatever he says, but also a recognition that this is still just a memorandum of understanding, right? This isn't a treaty.

This isn't a broad agreement. Congressional oversight, there's something called a NARA, which is going to give Congress the ability to kind of adjudicate any kind of long-term settlement with the Iranians. And one line I keep hearing is we anticipate, meaning the Republicans in Congress anticipate, this MOU for 60 days will be, extended another 60 days once there's a failure to reach an agreement and then another 60 days

and probably, you know, kicking the can down the street to the midterms. I mean, Republican senators, because they have longer leases on political life, six-year terms, are much more outspoken about how angry they are about this. I mean, this literally undoes everything the Republican Party has insisted they wanted to do with respect to Iran. When you hear Donald Trump saying he doesn't care about the missile program, you know who cares about the missile program? The Gulf Arab states, which have been outspoken in the fact that they have absolutely no intention of contributing. One of their top concerns, Michael. They've said from the very beginning, that's one of their top concerns.

Trump has to destroy the missile program. And, of course, Hegsith and Trump and everybody said, oh, we've destroyed 80%. We've destroyed 90%. No, they haven't. They haven't come closer now. At the end of this, Donald Trump says, oh, of course they can have missiles. If our allies can have missiles, they should have missiles. That is the antithesis of everything those Gulf regions,

have been saying since the war began. Right. And they think it's absolutely ludicrous that they would have to contribute $300 billion to a reconstruction fund to rebuild Iran when their own infrastructure was pummeled by Iranian drones and short-range missiles. So there's a bundle of contradictions here, and I think it's very interesting. MS Now had a report yesterday suggesting, and I mean, this has been an open secret since the MOU was announced, but Marker Rubio, he's kind of, you know, he comes out of the shadows every once in a while to issue it. statement. But what he said when he landed in, I think, Bahrain or one of the GCC countries yesterday,

was very interesting. He said, if Iran chooses to be a country, not a revolutionary movement that exports terrorism. And I forgot the rest of the comment, because that clause alone, telegraphs, I think, what the Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor believes about any kind of longstanding or lasting agreement with the Iranians. He doesn't think this thing has legs. He is all too happy to allow J.D. Vance to go out in public and own this agreement, because it's polarizing the Republican Party. It's allowing us in the media to litigate and savage every item on this thing. And it's also giving the Democrats a lot of talking points to use against the administration. I mean, for the first time, the Democrats look hawkish on Iran by comparison.

So Republican Senator Tim Shihi of Montana had some pointed words about the administration's efforts to sell its Iran deal to the American public. While Shihi credited the president for confronting the nuclear issue, he said the White House needs to be clear-eyed about who it's dealing with. I hope that Vice President of Vance and Kushner and Whitkoff are successful in convincing Iran to be a normal country and to open their minds and stop trying to murder their neighbors and destroy the world. But the reality is this is a murderous regime that doesn't want a deal. They don't want $6 gasoline. They don't want the straits to be open.

They want you and your family and all of us to be killed. They want to wipe our civilization off the map. That's their national motto. Well, I mean, it has been since 1979. There's, you know, people might say that, look at it. They go, oh, he's a warmonger. He's just using reality speaker. He's using Iran's own words.

And again, this idea that people in the administration keep saying, well, maybe, you know, J.D., because it's cool, man, maybe they'll be a normal country. They will never be a normal country. And I just wanted to add Willie really quickly. Michael was talking about yesterday, them undercutting what the administration said on nuclear inspections, also talking about fees, charging fees in the straight. But also, of course, remember a couple days ago, Donald Trump said, oh, this money is going to go straight to American farmers, and then they're going to have soybeans, and they're going to get rich, and then we'll sell it to Iran. And that's the Iranians yesterday go.

Now, we'll spend the money any way we want. Yeah, that one line from the foreign minister said, no, actually all that money you're giving us, We're going to do what we want with it. That tells the whole story. And you heard the frustration there from Senator Shihi, which is reflected in Republicans you talk to, and foreign policy experts who can't believe Elizabeth Bue Miller the level of trust that this deal and this president seems to place in the Iranian regime, which, as the senator said, has been chanting death to America since 1979.

The fact that Donald Trump, the president said yesterday, when confronted with the idea that giving over all this money, unfreezing the assets, letting them sell oil, oil and U.S. dollars again would go to sponsoring terrorism. He said, no, no, no, no, they're going to spend it on medical supplies and food for their people. I mean, it's just a kind of a shocking statement as if no one had looked even a week behind them in the rearview mirror of history, and if the victories are opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war began, and getting nuclear inspectors in the country, which were in the country under the Obama, Iran deal. Well, it doesn't look like much of a victory to a lot of people who've studied this.

I mean, correct. And we've all said for a long time that Donald Trump just wants to win the next five minutes, the next 10 minutes. And this, what happens, this is just every day is Groundhog Day from where I sit. He, you know, he says we've got a deal. We're doing great. You know, we're going to, you know, they've agreed to inspections. And the Iranians just say, just deny, you know, completely contradict him every single day. It makes the American president and America looks so weak in these negotiations. I've never seen anything like this. And yet Donald Trump just plows ahead every single day. And at this point, you know, his main concern is getting, you know, obviously gas prices down ahead of the midterms. But, you know, I think that Michael is right. This is going to be extended and extended and extended and extended. We're going to get well into the midterms and beyond the midterms. And as, you know, history tells us, the Iranians have a long, long leash on this. They are, you know, they can extend this past the midterms into the, into 2028.

You know, we saw what they did with Jimmy Carter with the hostages that went on for over a year, brought down Carter. So I just think they have the upper hand here. It's kind of shocking to see. Yeah, you know, Iranians, they humiliate American presidents for sport. And, you know, you look, Willie was just saying just looked six days ago. I think he was referencing the State Department, who six days ago said, Iran uses oil money for terrorism. Donald Trump's own administration six, seven days ago said,

Iran uses oil money for terrorism. Now that it serves them, suddenly it's like, oh, they're going to buy candy and cookies, and are they going to buy medicine and soybeans from farmers, area. It's just, my God, you can, it's, this is not a debate between Iran and the Trump administration. This is not a debate between leftists and the Trump administration. This is a debate between what the Trump administration said a couple of days ago and what they're saying now, what they said a couple of months ago and what they're saying now, what they've been saying

for 10 years and what they're saying now. And it just doesn't hold up. Up next, we're going to get David Drucker's take on all of this, as well as his new piece titled Trump's economic pivot isn't coming. He's made that clear. Plus, a top Republican Senator has some harsh words for acting director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte amid reports that he's begun firing. Dozens of staff members. Also ahead, a federal judge is now blocking ICE agents nationwide from making arrests inside immigration courts. We'll run through that new ruling. And as we go to break, a court. quick look at the travelers forecast this morning from Accuweathers. Bernie Rayno. Bernie, how's it looking?

Mika, it's a wonderful Wednesday in the northeast of mid-Atlantic. Your exclusive ACWether forecast is sunshine. 82's a popular number. Boston, New York City, Harrisburg, Washington, D.C., Charleston, St. Louis. But there will be a couple of gusty thunderstorms from St. Louis towards Chicago today. Much of the southeastern dry except Florida Peninsula, Gulf Coast, and some strong thunderstorms from Oklahoma City toward Litter Rock. If you're doing any traveling, some delays in Miami. To help you make the best decisions and be more in the know, download the ACUweather app today.

He hasn't thought about it. Welcome back to the Washington Monument yet. Not yet. Name's not on it yet. Maybe he could gilded in gold? Yeah. It's an idea. Paint it.

What color did he paint the reflecting pool? Because I can't tell what color that thing is. That's something, isn't it? Ooh. All right. President Trump held a rally-style event. in Pennsylvania yesterday was his first public outing since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran last week. Basically, sort of different understandings still trying to come

together is what it is. The president spoke for nearly 90 minutes going through his usual list of political grievances and false claims. He bragged about the stock market, never really addressed affordability concerns, and claimed oil prices will come down and bring lower costs for Americans along with it. He also made a rather odd comparison about his administration forcing regime change in Venezuela and the war in Iran. You know, the stock market hit a new high today again. And oil for the first time in months hit, think of it, $70 a barrel. So we got a 70. That equates to a very low price that oil is going to come charging down. And with oil comes everything else because I inherited from these Democrats.

You know, they're Democrats. I changed the E for you. It's very simple Democrats. I don't know why I didn't think of that nine years ago. But also Iran, we knocked them out. One week it was essentially militarily over, much bigger country, 91 million people. And much different ideology, the ideology of the Muslims is slightly different than, the ideology of the Catholics.

We have the Catholics and the Muslims slightly different. But Venezuela's been great and Iran's been great. I mean, you know, if Iran's reasonable, they're smart, otherwise we'll have to finish the job, which will take about, maybe less than a week. They were absolutely terrible

on affordability. Remember I got here? My first day, the fake news is screaming at me. What about affordability? I'm only here one day. Remember, eggs were up about five times higher than they ever were. And we have prices are coming down right now at levels that you've never seen. And now with oil crashing, you're going to see something really amazing.

Yeah, okay. First of all, oil is coming down. Prices is not coming down. Inflation is higher today than it was when Joe Biden. Affordability. These are all facts. Affordability. Yeah.

Inflation, again, higher today. Access and cost of health. health care? Iran's been great. No, Iran's not been great. Women's health care? I could destroy them in less than a week. No, you actually, we haven't been able to, quote, destroy them over three months. In fact, we were capitulating to them, giving them $300 billion in war reparations, unfreezing funds, doing things that made Barack Obama's deal with the Iranians look like, just like Reagan, really, really tough. David Drucker, though, you have a new piece for Bloomberg titled, Trump's economic pivot isn't coming.

He's made that clear. And then it, you're right for Republicans and Congress, who in cleaning of the hope that President Donald Trump might finally focus on the economy out of the midterms. Their time might better be spent searching for proof that the tooth fairy is real. Of course, a president could focus on more than one issue at a time. That goes with the job, but he still refuses to acknowledge any aspect of the economy is underperforming matters related to affordability. And yesterday, as we were all tuning in, David, to Pennsylvania to see whether the president was able to do that. We heard a lot of bizarre stories, a lot of false

claims at one point talking about a burly muscular man whose wife didn't like him despite all of his muscles because his 401k was low. And then the 401k went up. And he said, sir, all because of you, he said, well, that must be good. And then Donald Trump ended the story by saying, well, I don't think I like her anymore anyway. So for Republicans in swing districts, not exactly the message they wanted to hear yesterday on affordability. Why can't he get there? Why is the sky blue? Listen, we've seen this now.

I know there's a scientific answer, but you know, my kids ask me this all the time. I'm not really sure. I'm chucked with God. I don't understand. All right. It's just blue and that's the way it is. Look, this goes back a decade, right? I mean, I remember, you know, Trump's first couple years in office during the first term. And occasionally it would appear as though he was pivoting away from unconventional, a very successful presidential candidate to a more normal functioning president, right? And was this the pivot? Was his first aggressed in the joint session of Congress to pivot? No, a couple of days later, he was. accusing Barack Obama of spying on him. I remember he nominated Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court and for a lot of Republicans that were hoping that he was pivoting to a more normal functioning conservative

Republican. There was a lot of excitement. And about two weeks later, he said that he trusted Vladimir Putin more than the U.S. intelligence community. And so I think it became something of a punchline. And Donald Trump, you know, he's in many ways a complicated political figure, but a simple man. and he just is the way he is. And so he does not like to acknowledge when he is the incumbent,

any problems with the country, because they're all going to fall at his feet because we give presidents more blame and credit than they deserve. And that's the way it is when you're the incumbent president. And I will say this, he's been in office now more than a year. As I was reporting on the administration and following voters for the first six to nine months of this second term, there were a lot of voters that were giving him time.

He did. I hate the word inherit because with all of these politicians, it's like they got a letter one day. They weren't expecting and said their long lost uncle left him a money pit and they inherited. What are they supposed to do? I mean, this is a job they wanted. They knew the conditions. But voters understood that the president came in and needed time to try and resurrect the economy and get prices under control. It's one of the big reasons they hired him in 2024. We've reached a point and voters always reach a point at some point after a president's been in office a while, where they now. are looking at him and saying, look, this is your gig, man. You did this. You wanted this job. We relied on you to fix things. And you're not getting it done. And so his argument isn't with us. It's with the voters. But if the president has proven anything and if people have been paying attention, he does not pivot. He may acknowledge. And as I write in the piece, I think his effort in any way he possibly can to get out of the Iran war is a recognition that a higher order. oil costs were exacerbating the problem of inflation. But an acknowledgement is not a pivot. And I wouldn't expect him based on history and it passed his prologue and it always isn't President Trump to start focusing relentlessly on the economy versus saying, this is all a democratic hoax. Everything is fine.

Yeah, I mean, in the middle of this war, he infamously said, I don't care about people's financial situations when he was asked about the consequence of the Strait of Hormuz being closed and people's gas prices going up, said he didn't care about. about that. So he's kind of on the record, and you hear more of that when he says affordability is a hoax. I'm curious, David, though, as you travel the country, talking to Republican voters, we always hear that, you know, there's some who are breaking who are done with Trump, they're exhausted, they want to move on, turn the page from the show. And then they seem to, not all of them, but they seem to find their way back. But given the war, given the Epstein files, given the state

of the economy, the MAGA base is going to stay with him. What's your sense of where sort of rank and file Republicans are sitting right now with Don? Trump. Look, I think ring and five Republicans are going to largely stick with the candidates that are running for office in midterm elections. The question is going to be, one, where do they fit in the coalition, right? How close are they? If we're looking at this coalition, like a solar system, you know, how closer are they to the sun, right? And the further they are, the further away they are from the center of gravity, the more chance for some frame, the more chance that they'll sit on their hands and not show up. It depends what the trigger will be. Maybe it'll be the economy. Maybe for some,

it'll be the president's handling of the Iran war with this memorandum of understanding. I think we will, though, see, and we see this in midterm elections usually, even when there's a route by one party, where voters tend to come home at the end of the day and support their party, even if they have misgivings about the president, especially in these very polarized political times with such a deep splits. But watch turnout, watch the different parts of the coalition,

because you join the coalition, you're a part of the Republican Party for different reasons, and the further away you are from the president to begin with, the more likely you are to either not show up or to cross the aisle and vote for a Democrat, if it's the right kind of Democrat in a swing district. We're referencing New York with Kate Conley. A really good example there where you have a Democrat that could appeal to some swing and soft Republicans.

And Elizabeth, it's not just theory. We have faces and names to these frustrations. Yesterday, MS now had a reporter talking to people in Reading, Pennsylvania ahead of that Trump event and heard from person after person disappointment about he's, failed to keep his promises, particularly on prices. And that echoes what we have had in previous segments. We've had reporters in Ohio and Florida, other states, almost saying the same thing, that we elected this guy more than anything else to bring prices down. He hasn't done that. And instead, he's focused on his own legacy and he's focused on, you know, foreign military

intervention, which he promised he wouldn't do. And while Trump's not on the ballot this fall, other Republicans are and certainly speak to us about their anxiety levels. Hi, anxiety. And I agree with you. We have the same kind of reporting at the Times. People are telling us, you know, I've given up on him. I, you know, I thought he was going to do it. He hasn't done it. Look at what I'm paying. And I also think it's really striking, too, that he's not getting out very much. I mean, this was a new, you know, he's not traveling the country very much. And we're not that far from the midterms. And, you know, maybe it's better for Republicans that he doesn't, because he certainly doesn't bring a winning message with him when he's saying that he doesn't care about people's financial situations. So they're, you know, very, they're very anxious. The polling shows that he's, you know, he's a 36% approval rating. He's down even among Republicans, which is quite striking. I can't remember what the numbers are, 70%, 80%. I mean, it's still high, but for a party that has really embraced him for a long time, it's very striking. I think he's wearing very, very thin, and he's not really, he's not meeting people where they are. I mean, it's interesting. Donald Trump always, he's a big

salesman. He'll tell you that prices are the lowest that ever been, hoping that people, believe him, but they can't believe him anymore because they see what the prices are for gas and for groceries. So writer at large for the New York Times, Elizabeth Bue Miller, thank you very much. And also senior writer at the Dispatch and Calmness at Bloomberg opinion. David Drucker, thank you as well. Coming up, we're going to be talking with Michael Weiss about it's just some remarkable events that continue to happen in the Ukraine-Russian war. The pay. The pay. pace of change is quickening there. And even a suggestion that maybe Donald Trump understands, if he wants to be on the winning side, he's going to have to help Ukraine. We're also going to have

a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning, including the Pentagon's about face on the flu vaccine requirements for troops. Plus, a new legal blow to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Morning, Joe, we'll be back in a moment. This morning, Russia is accusing the United States of abandoning its role as a neutral broker in the war in Ukraine. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, telling foreign envoys in Moscow yesterday, Washington is, quote, seemingly stepping back from the role of an objective mediator. According to the Financial Times, the comments followed reports. President Trump praised Ukraine's recent long-range strikes inside Russia at the G7 summit in France

and backed tougher sanctions on Russian energy. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also cast doubt on Moscow's ability to reach its goals, saying Russia is, quote, not going to achieve the objectives they set out on day one. Ukrainian officials say Trump appears more open to increase military support with President Zelensky, adding, the U.S. responded positively to plans for patriot missile production. Meanwhile, President Trump is urging Moscow to negotiate, saying simply, Russia should make a deal. So, Michael, we feels like we've been here before where people say, oh, is President Trump swinging back toward Ukraine? In this case, Ukraine is making

such progress that perhaps he wants to bet on a winner, but it does seem like he always comes home to the position of putting his thumb on the scale for Vladimir Putin. So what are we watching right now from the United States government? Well, you kind of said it. I mean, Ukraine is doing well on the battlefield. Russia's attempts to retake all of Dombas have stalled. Their offensive was a failure. But more importantly, I mean, Donald Trump has negotiated himself out of the last. leverage he had when he came into office. The United States military aid to Ukraine dropped 99% in the last 18 months. So what are we doing now? We're selling weapons to Europe and NATO allies. It's the so-called Pearl Initiative, which is Trump's baby. Every time he has a chance to talk about Ukraine policy,

he says, oh, the Europeans pay for everything and they pay in full. We don't send a dime anymore. Great. That means that the Europeans pay the bills for Ukraine's defense. They get a seat at the table. They have taken on more of an ownership in the negotiations with the Russians such that even Putin is talking about having Europe appoint a special envoy to deal directly with Moscow. I don't put much stock in Donald Trump's vacillations. You know, as you say, we've seen this movie before. He gets on the phone with Putin and all of this can be torn apart. The more interesting thing that's happened is that Russia has begun to realize that their

desire for rapprochement, if not strategic realignment with the United States, Trump can't deliver on it. So Udoos Chakoff, Putin's special advisor, he's been saying for several weeks, the spirit of Anchorage is dead. What is he referring to? Remember the summit last August? The red carpet. Right. Apparently, there are all kinds of secret protocols and things that were discussed between Trump and Putin at that summit, not just related to the war in Ukraine, but basically the post-Cold War European security architecture, halting NATO expansion, et cetera, et cetera. Now the Russians are saying, that's all kaput. We have no faith and credibility in Washington to deliver. So if the Russians are souring on Trump, that means they're going to get more aggressive, and that means that the Ukrainians will say, you see, we told you so. Putin is not interested in peace. There's also a lot of financial discussions there. There are going to be business deals,

lining the U.S. and Russian economies again. That also seems to be put on pause to be sure. So let's talk about the struggles that Putin is having right now. I mean, we're seeing nearly on a daily basis, Ukraine and be able to strike deeper and deeper into Russia with their drones and war rumblings out of Moscow just about perhaps running out of the ability to conduct this war at all. In Crimea, there's no fuel.

I mean, there's no gas. They're going to have to import stuff because the Ukrainians have so effectively interdicted the direct line of communication from Russia to the occupied peninsula, right? Like their drones are taking out truck convoys, rail terminals, you name it. Russia's not

doing well economically at home. They had a shot in the arm because we waive some of the sanctions that were imposed on their energy infrastructure as a result of our war in Ukraine. But as you said, Ukraine's ability to project power deep into Russia, I mean, in the far east with their long-range drones, taking out

energy infrastructure. And, you know, coming back this point about Trump. The bizarre thing with Trump is he kind of plumps when he hears that the Ukrainians can do these things, right? He loves to see these spectacular, you know, odds-defying military operations. He gets excited by him, just like he got excited by the Israeli Pagergate against Hezbollah. So when Zelensky says, look at what we can do. You know, the Russians say that their victory is inevitable and that we shouldn't exist anymore. Meanwhile, we're taking the fight to them on their own territory. You know, the strike that hit Moscow just a few, like a week ago, shut down all four airports in Moscow. Nobody had this on their bingo card in February of 2022, right? And Putin is now

realizing that his ability to sell the population. Don't worry about the war. It's taking place far away. Just continue to live your lives. I mean, he's throttled the internet. He's banned telegram. So social media apps are, I think now they've allowed roadblocks for the kids just so people can kind of distract themselves from the fact that this war is now hitting them on their own doorstep. So things are not going well for the Russians, and they're getting increasingly erratic and desperate. And if the Ukrainians can continue to sell this utilitarian reason for backing that, remember, it's not about the humanitarian suffering, it's not about moral solidarity. Those things don't, Trump's eyes glaze over. It's about we make drones, and now we want to

co-produce patriot missiles with the United States, invest in us, and will be a colossal return on investment. And then you can use us in future to fight these wars, right? I mean, I mentioned before on the show, CIA and John Rackcliffe deserves a lot of credit for maintaining the intelligence relationship with Ukrainians. CIA envisages Ukraine having a role to play in Taiwan, should China try to take, you know, that country. So it's extraordinary the way the Ukrainians have kind of reinvented themselves as a necessity rather than a charity case. editor at the insider michael weiss thank you as always for your reporting and insights we appreciate and still ahead on morning joe four years after the supreme court overturned roe v wade abortion access

remains at the center of a fierce legal and political fight we're going to speak with the reporter for the nation about where things stand today and her new book titled killers of row my investigation into mysterious death of abortion rights. Morning Joe, we'll be right back.