Morning Joe - Trump doubts intelligence that Russia is helping Iran

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

July 28, 2026: 7am — Trump doubts intelligence that Russia is helping Iran  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.

Now eggs are much lower than they were when we first started. And that's true with everything else. And you'll see how true it's going to be after we get rid of the nuclear threat of Iran, which will be very quickly. When the fuel comes down, which it did for a little while, then they didn't behave and I had to go back. And now they're behaving again. You know, it's like playing a banjo. Okay, President Trump yesterday with an odd metaphor about the war with Iran as the conflict now enters its. sixth month. Amid a lull in fighting between the United States and Iran, mediators across the

Middle East are expressing optimism about renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war. Right now, Qatar and Pakistan are working to revive the interim ceasefire deal with one regional official describing the progress as significant. President Trump told reporters on Air Force One yesterday that Iran asked for the attacks to stop and wanted more discussions. Iran took a beating over the last 14 days, and they asked us very nicely, please stop, let's meet. And that's what we are right now. See what happens. If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman later denied that Iran had offered to negotiate in return for a pause in U.S. strikes. They respond to everything. Why don't they know that? Meanwhile, mediators have also been working with Iran and Oman over the past several days to hammer out an agreement for ships to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains one of the biggest sticking points in the war. So, you know, Mika, as you know, I know where you're going here. I say to you.

I know where you're going here. I want to work every day. Let me work. I usually don't know where you're going every day. But I know where you're going. I want to work every day. I would be really honest with you. Today is a national holiday in Morning Joe Land.

Yeah. We celebrate the great birthdays of great Americans. Washington. Yeah. Jefferson Lincoln. Yeah. Martin Luther King. Yeah.

Frederick Douglass. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brian Wilson. The FONDS. And the Emeritus, President Emeritus of the Council in Foreign Relations, Richard Haas. Happy birthday. Happy birthday.

And I think we have Jonathan Lemire in a cake. He's going to, John, you're going to sing happy birthday for Richard. We'll have it a next commercial break. We'll bring it out to him. Richard, happy birthday. I was going to sing for him. Okay, very good. Did you want me to sing?

No. Yeah, no. You don't want me to sing happy. Happy birthday to Richard Hoss? No, that way down. I'm really good. I don't. I don't.

You could, though, say hi to contributing opinion writer from the New York Times, Molly John Fass. Hi, Molly. It's good to have you on board as well this morning. And guess who else is with us this morning, Joe? The editor of the New Yorker David Remnick, we actually wrote David in. He thought he was going to come in and talk about Iran, talk about foreign policy, there's so much to say. Talk about the DSA.

No. But he, we've got to have it because he's a great musician. Is he going to sing Happy Birthday Day of Richard Ross? He's going to get his guitar. Do you have a guitar in your studio there? Of course, of course. Right there. Let's see.

Let's see it. He's going to get it. All right. Nice. Nice. I'm not ready for a national audience, Joe. Okay. Well, we've got to, we've got to hear each other.

At some point, we've got to get together and play. And it'll just be ourselves. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Exactly, because, you know, you and me going out and singing together would probably require us to do a take on that old Monty Python joke where a Bob Dylan imitator said, I've suffered for my art in my entire life. Now it's your turn. So we'll just sing in room. Let's talk about, hey, Mike Barnacle, how you doing?

You want to wish Richard Haas a happy birthday, Mike? Of course they do. Of course I do. I already wished me a happy birthday last night. Wow. Wow. Like it. See the rich and the powerful, they always hobnob at cocktail parties in New York City. You know, while we are in sticks.

All right. Let's get down to business. Well, let's get down to business. Richard Haas, first of all, you heard the president talking once again about how the Iranians promised. You know, they'd negotiate if he'd just, if they'd say uncle, if he'd just stop attacking him. And then the Iranians say, once again, no, that's just not true. Six months into this, are we any closer to a resolution? Good morning, Joe.

By the way, it's not a guitar. It's a banjo. And I'm still trying to work on the president's metaphor here. Pickax Mountain Breakdown is what comes to mind. It's the only thing I can come up with so far. Resolution's too big of a word. The question is whether we can come up with some sort of pause or ceasefire, limited arrangement because so many things are unreachable. We're not going to reach agreement

on Iran's conventional forces. The nuclear thing is going to take years to deal with, if ever. Support for proxies is not on the agenda. So what we're really talking about is the straight on a ceasefire, those two issues. Could you reach some type of a limited agreement for a ceasefire? Yes, we've done it before. Will it last? Probably be intermittent. Could you get a deal on the straight? Yeah, I think the real question, Joe. is whether we're prepared to allow Iran to require a lot of ships to use the channel off its coast. For what it's worth, I don't see why that would be the end of the world. And could there be some type of a mechanism created some type of a regional authority

that would have the right to levy fees? Then these fees would be shared by Iran, Oman, conceivably others. I think that's also in the realm of the doable. And yes, Iran would benefit economically to some extent from that. that could easily be offset if we would hold back on easing a lot of the economic sanctions, which ought not to be eased, until we see much more fundamental changes in Iran's behavior. Plus, we can keep the pressure on Iran with the blockade that we've been talking about here for several months that you were kind enough to name for me.

So I actually think, yes, I think there's a potential, not resolution, but limited modus for Vendee, that we could come up because both sides, last point, both sides have a real incentive. The United States obviously wants to see the price of energy come down and so forth. Iran, the biggest weakness of this government, of this regime, of this society is the economy. So at some point, they have got to become, you know, once again, they've got to deliver economically. So yes, I think there's something that will be worked out, more question of one. Yeah. You know, David Remnick in February, if you just got back to the beginning of February,

this year. You can make the argument that the United States and Israel will probably at the peak of its power in that region. You look at everything that had been going Israel's way, everything that had been going the United States way. And then the invasion began. And of course, now Donald Trump is in 2026, where Jimmy Carter was in 1979 to 1980. And Israel is at its lowest ab of public support in the United States since 1948. You've just returned to from Israel. Could you tell us what you found, who you spoke with, and how he hopes to return to Israel to the sort of liberal Western democracy that many of us once saw it as being? Well, I think it was an illusion last year that the dawning of the age of Aquarius had occurred

in the Middle East. And you heard this illusion on the right, especially, you know, having to do with Hezbollah and the seeming defeat of Hamas and much more. Now, realism has really set in hard. I was in Israel because I wanted to cover the election, which is taking shape now. And I spent my time covering the person who has the best shot at unseeding Netanyahu, and that's a general named Gotti Eisenkott. Eisenkot is, I wouldn't call him the most charismatic politician I've ever encountered in my life. Instead, his appeal is as someone who is in the center, who radiates a certain sanity and a certain sympathy,

and the sympathy is rooted in the fact that his son and two nephews were killed in the war in Gaza. Everybody in the country knows that about him. And he has the best chance of forming a coalition government come the end of October. But I think if you're looking for real movement on the Palestinians in any way that resembles the 90s or some version thereof where democracy is extended beyond Jewish Israelis, I think that's going to be slow in coming. And it's not a mentionable subject. You can't talk about that, it seems, in the election campaign, because then you risk the whirlwind and you're never going to win the Senate. and center and center right. Yeah, and David, certainly it's a country, Israel, that has moved more and more to the right

in recent years. Demographics suggest that will, shifts suggest that will continue. So speak to us. That's the election. That's the challenger. The incumbent is Prime Minister Netanyahu. He'll be in Washington today. He's going to hear in town for Senator Graham's funeral, but he also will get a much-desired Oval Office meeting with the president. Their relationship, obviously, has had its ups and downs, particularly in recent months. speak to us what you anticipate may come from today, but also how badly does Netanyahu need this meeting? What does he need from Trump? Well, I think people understand in Israel that Netanyahu's sway with the president has been diminished radically.

That this business of, there's great resentment in Israel that Israel is seen as having pushed the United States. States into this war with Iran. The truth is, is that Netanyahu has been pushing for this war in one form or another since the Bush administration. He has pressed every president since then and keeps telling them, you know, the jets are on the runway. We have to do it now. We're five seconds away from a nuclear weapon in Iran. Again, nobody has any illusions about the regime itself and what it's willing to do to protesters and the like. But right now, you have a situation where it's to Netanyahu's political advantage for the war to continue, and it's to Trump's disadvantage in the midterms that it continue. They have opposite political impulses where this is

concerned. Interesting. So before President Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today at the White House, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky will also sit down with the president in the Oval Office. Zelensky says he'll share evidence that Russia is helping Iran target American assets in the Middle East by providing satellite imagery. The Kremlin has denied aiding Tehran.

President Trump was asked about this yesterday. Olensky says that Russia is giving Iran satellite imagery of U.S. bases in the Gulf to help them target. What can you do about that? Well, we'll find out of that, sir. I'll ask Putin about it. We'll find out. Hasn't that much impact because we've knocked the hell out of it, would you think? If that's the case, look, you know, they gave Venezuela a lot of equipment.

Venezuela had all Russian equipment. How did that work out? Not too good. So they may be giving, but if they are in it. It hasn't worked out because they have no Army, they have no Air Force. They have no Navy, they have no nothing, so it hasn't worked out. Well, I don't think they've been doing it certainly not at a high level. And if they have, it has been very unimpactful.

I don't think, I don't think they've been doing it. Wow, wow, wow. I don't think they've been doing it. I'll ask. I'll ask Putin. I'm sorry. Jonathan Amir, we have to go to you. You have to be twitching.

You have to have PTSD because you were the one who asked the question in Helsinki in 2018, whether he believed Vladimir Putin or whether he believed his own intel community, the very people that he put to run the intel community. And what did he say to you and the world in 2018 in Helsinki? He made it very clear that he believed Putin, that he sided with Moscow. And we've seen this countless times since. Despite the firestorm of criticism, he received her Helsinki. One of the few times, frankly, that the majority of Republicans stood up and denounced him,

though the Republican Party was very different in 2018 than it is today. But he is stuck with that. And this here, again, he's so often takes Putin's word for it. And he's already laying the groundwork that he suggests he will again. So Richard Haas is going to be up to President Zelensky to make the case today. He shouldn't have to. It should be pretty clear. Again, U.S. Intel has suggested that, at least in the United States,

some form, Russia has been helping Iran during this conflict, China, too, I might add, yet Trump doesn't want to seem to believe it. But this does seem like a high, so talk to us about that, but also the stakes here for Zelensky, who comes to the White House in a very different place than some of his previous visits. It does, though perhaps a couple own goals back in Kiev about shuffling up some of his leadership staff, Zelensky's taking heat at home for that. But in terms of the war itself, Ukraine has momentum. They suddenly had the look of a winner, And if there's one thing we know about Donald Trump, he likes to be associated with winners. No, look, absolutely. And let's just say on the previous point, yes, Russia is helping Iran.

Also, Iran is helping Russia with its drones and so forth. And it's part of the emergence of a kind of alignment. I wouldn't call it quite an alliance. China, North Korea, Russia, Iran. And that's just an unfortunate reality in today's world. But Zelensky, I think the larger point is, yeah, Solensky comes here with some wind his back, despite the political machinations in Keeb, he's taking the war and really weakening the Russian position in 2014, in Crimea, which they've held since 2014. He is attacking Russian energy infrastructure in Siberia. He has made it clear that even in Moscow or St. Petersburg, Putin, other Russians are not safe. Russia's not gaining territory. Indeed, they seem to be recently losing territory. So I actually think the war has shifted in important ways. We can't really help Ukraine

that much. Our cupboard militarily is pretty bare right now. We don't have the defense industrial base to produce stuff. We've used up an enormous amount of munitions in the Middle East, which is a conversation for another day. We've got a real national crisis there. What we can do, though, is provide at least a few patriots to air defense missiles to Ukraine. More important is put more economic pressure on Russia. And this is where the two crises come together, Jonathan. If we could get the straight open, that would lower global energy prices. Guess what? That's the equivalent of a sanction against Putin, because Russia's economy is so one-dimensional. So I actually think these two crises come together. That's the biggest way we can help Ukraine is by amping up economic

pressure on Putin because the political and economic pressure is growing against Putin. And that sets the stage for a possible ceasefire in place. Donald Trump, since day one, has talked about he's going to get a peace in Ukraine. Well, he can't get peace there, but he could get a ceasefire. And I think increasingly the table is being set for that possibility. So David Remnick, not for the first time, we have American intelligence indicating that the Russians are allowing tracking and spotting, targeting places in Ukraine, in the Middle East, on behalf of themselves and their allies. And the President of the United States seems not only not to recognize this, but not to want to talk about it. Well, he chooses not to. He has this inchoate crazy faith in big dictators

like Xi and Putin especially, it's absolutely bewildering. And it's hard to know what to point to first, the strategic stupidity or the moral failure. And that's not just today. It's not just this week, but it characterizes this presidency. And I think going into the midterm elections, a lot of Americans who were on board for much of Trumpism, I certainly don't count myself as one of them, but are going to see the combination of strategic failure resulting in higher prices at the gas pump combined with a president who just brazenly is profiting off his own presidency, is enriching himself while emiserating so many others, including his own voters, that I think that that's going to add to the potential of a real drumming in November. I don't make predictions, but I think those two issues, side by side, corruption,

where self-dealing is going on, including in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and the rest, combined with just the colossal strategic foolishness of this war, when his promise was quite the opposite, is going to be a real, real problem at the ballot box. And I think Trump, A, knows it, and B, doesn't know how to undo it. Speaking of midterms, David, it strikes me that what Trump wants is pretty much the opposite of what Netanyahu wants. And I'm just wondering when you, what is your sense of how you think? I mean, it just, you can't, they can't both win this, right? So where do you think this goes and how?

I think America very clearly Trump has tried to assert his primacy over the Israelis. You know, you see it in Maggie Haberman. You see it in that book, throughout the book, regime change, where Trump wants to assert his alpha male self over Netanyahu and not only wants to do it, the administration is very quick to distribute that information so that the rest of us know it. There's one phone call in particular in that book where he just berates him and says, everybody hates you. The Jews hate you at one point, he says, including the two Jews that are on this line,

which I presume was Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff. Somebody very helpfully leaked those conversations and you hear about them every day in Israel as a result as well as in the United States. All right, editor of the New Yorker David Remnick, thank you so much for coming on this morning. His latest piece titled, How Netanyahu's Top General Became His Strongest Challenger, is online now.

And the man who's going to be going to parades throughout the day celebrating his birthday, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas, thank you as well. And, of course, if you hear a knock on your door tonight around 8, 839. It will be David Rinnick and I with an acoustic guitar and a banjo to serenade you. So please let us in. We will, do me a favor. We will bolt the doors against that possibility. All right. Still ahead on Morning Joe, Maine's new Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Troy Jackson is standing by. We'll talk to him about his high-stakes race to replace incumbent Republican senator,

Susan Collins this November. You're watching Morning, Joe. We will be right back. For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is concerned. Maine does not need another six years of concern. We need someone with courage. We need a fighter. And we need a senator who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington, which is you.

All right. Democrats in Maine have chosen former state Senate press. President Troy Jackson as their party's new nominee in the states closely watched race for U.S. Senate. The progressive leader won a last-minute naming convention over the weekend by an overwhelming vote of 566 to 5.6 to 5. The former Democratic nominee, Graham Plattner, was forced to drop out of the race earlier this month. Jackson now will face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November as she seeks her sixth term in our sixth term in our office and Jackson has already nabbed a high profile endorsement from a former vice president Kamala Harris, who in a fundraising email yesterday alluded to her own squeezed campaign for president

in 2024, writing in part, quote, I know what it's like to step up to the plate with a short runway to election day. And Troy Jackson joins us now. First of all, congratulations, Troy, on a big convention win. Wow. So Kamla talked about her very very very. short campaign. You're going to be facing the same thing. How is yours going to end differently? Well, I appreciate you guys having me on. I mean, I think the difference here is that, you know, people in Maine are fed up. I mean, they got, you know, health care that's gone under control. We're losing hospitals, losing birth and centers. You know, the economy is awful, terrorists and things like that. And I just think that, you know, people in the state are ready for, you

change that they don't want a senator like Susan Collins that you know was giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people you know I'm a fifth generation longer from Maine I've been fighting my entire career to make life better here in Maine and and you know that's why I think people are going to come this way because they know me they trust me they know I've been fighting for them I'm not fighting for the billionaire class and you can go to jackson from Maine.com you can find out all about it all right well I And Troy, let me, maybe you can help us explain to people that watch this show, the dynamics of what Susan Collins, what Republicans did when they voted for what they called the one big beautiful bill, while also extending Trump tax cuts. So billionaires, a multinational corporation's got, you know, bigger tax cuts.

But Medicaid was slashed. What we've been trying to explain to people since that happened is let Republicans think that may hurt people in the Bronx, that might hurt people in Brooklyn, that might hurt people in Los Angeles. But we keep saying that if you look at the numbers, that disproportionately hurts people in the reddest parts of America. Can you explain, and I'm not being partisan here,

this is just reality, can you explain how, slashing Medicaid impacts working class and middle class people all across Maine. Yeah, I mean, it's very clear, and that's what, you know, was happening here in Maine. I mean, there's an energy like I've never seen of, you know, people that are frustrated, they're fed up. I mean, they want a government that works for them, and cutting Medicaid. I mean, you know, we've lost birth and centers in Fort Kent. We've lost birth and centers in Holton out of Mount Desert Island, and right now, Lincoln County. and it's only getting worse.

We lost the hospital in Waterville. And the worst thing about this is they were quite evil about the fact that a lot of these cuts are going to happen after the midterm elections. So it's only going to get worse. And you can see it, you know, how it's going to affect our economy. People are just not going to have access to health care.

And, you know, Collins has done that time and time again. I mean, she overturned or helped overturn Roe versus Wade, made it hard for people in this country to have health care and abortion care. And now she's part of the reason why we're going to lose all access in rural Maine. And like I said, people know it. I mean, you know, we're not stupid. We know when billionaires are screwing us and Susan Collins is helping them do it. You know, a lot of their money is going to go towards ads calling you a communist.

and they're going to get help from the co-chair of the DSA who said she wanted to abolish the Senate, get rid of the president, get rid of the Supreme Court, empty the jail, stop funding national defense, erase the borders, defund the police. Do you support any of those things? No. I mean, but what I do support is a government that works for everyday, you know, people, small business owners, workers, you know, people that actually, you know, depend on the government to work for them. And it isn't. I mean, it just isn't. And we all know that. And that's why I say, I mean, you know, we can have much better government than we have right now. And people in Maine are going to show up on November. And Susan Collins is in trouble. I want to ask you, you've mentioned a couple of times the birthing centers, and I know one area in Maine where they closed the local hospital, the birthing center specifically, and women have to drive hours to get life-saving medical care when they are pregnant, which is ridiculous in itself. And the comment you made about we are not stupid. I'm just curious.

Do you hear from Trump supporters, especially about these decisions that have been made on Trump's watch? Because Maine's an interesting state. It's very diverse. And I'm wondering about your appeal to perhaps both parties. And if you're having conversations with those who perhaps voted for Trump. Well, honestly, throughout my entire time, I've been having those conversations. I mean, I got elected the state Senate all three times that Trump was on the ballot, the times that Susan Collins is on the ballot.

I mean, you know, I see signs, you know, Trump Jackson on people's longs, although we're totally different. But, you know, I have the long history of fighting for people in Maine, like I said, being the fifth generation logger. I got started blocking the Canadian border to protest unfair wages then. I've worked on the fishing industry. I mean, you know, you name it. But I think, you know, people wanted something, you know, people to stand up for them. They've always wanted that. That's what I want.

And, you know, Trump made an argument that he was going to do that. But now it's by remorse across the state. I mean, you know, the tariffs are killing, you know, businesses across the state. You know, like you said, we've lost health care because of the big, beautiful bill. You know, everything is going wrong for people in Maine, and they know that. And that's why, I mean, I have these conversations all the time with people. Yeah, you know, they're frustrated with Democrats, but they know damn well that Donald Trump and Susan Collins has been doing nothing for help them. Troy, good morning.

Grant Platner, of course, ended up being a very flawed candidate. But one thing that he undeniably did was excite progressives, excite. some degree of populists, you know, appealed to a voter there in Maine who perhaps wasn't, had never voted before and is questioning whether to do so now. How do you speak to those voters? How do you keep their excitement up and turn that into support for your candidacy? Yeah, there's no doubt, Graham, you know, did a great job as far as getting people going, very articulate, you know, better than I am at that. But, you know, what I've been doing, all through this is trying to make sure that people understand that, you know, it's about the movement.

It's about the issues. I mean, this is way bigger than any one person. Bigger than Graham, certainly bigger than me. You know, we have a chance right now because people are coming together like I've never seen before. And, you know, when I worked for Bernie in 2016, that was the most incredible campaign that, you know, I've ever been around. This is way bigger. I mean, people are coming out like crazy because they are upset. They know that this government is not working for them.

And finally, it's gotten so bad that they're actually coming out, picking their heads up, and want some change. And so for me, it's about continuing to make sure that the movement goes forward, that I make sure and let people know that, look, all these things that you wanted when you were talking to Graham, we can still get them. I mean, we can still do that. We can change the world, you know, by standing up and fighting for each other. And that's what I've been trying to do,

is just make sure that people understand that I have the same goals to help them. I mean, that's always been who I am. And we're going to do it if people stay engaged. Troy, you know, driving through Maine is an interesting experience. You come up by 95. You cross over from New Hampshire. And everything on the right-hand side seems filled with sunshine.

You have Portland. You have Ogunquit. You've got a lot of great towns. And the left-hand side seems a little different sometimes. In November, over 170,000 residents of Maine are going to lose SNAP benefits. How do you hammer that home? Yeah, well, that's another thing that I think people understand.

We have a very high food insecurity here in Maine. That's why I was able to do universal school meals, brought people together, Republicans and Democrats. I mean, because, you know, people need assistance. I mean, it's not, it's a challenge state. We are low-wage state, and people need help, and that's fine. And now they want to take that away. You know, and it's not only that, it's the farmers here in Maine

that actually are going to lose the business of SNAP benefits too, which is incredible amount. I think it's $35 million, something like that a week. I'm not really sure what the number is, But anyways, it's people that are going hungry, businesses that won't have that opportunity, and that too, people will understand. They know that, you know, free school meals and assistance like that is a big deal across the state. And when we lose it, that'll be another nail in the proverbial coffin for Senator Collins.

So you had at one point, you've had evolving views on Trump. And I would love you to talk us through how they've evolved and how you've gotten to actually be pro-choice and how you've voted for LGBT rights. Sure. You know, early on, you know, I wasn't, you know, real clear on reproductive rights. But, you know, I had a lot of conversations over time, a lot of conversations with women, doctors, community members. I mean, you know, just people that I came to trust. And it became, you know, more and more clear to me that abortion access was health care. And really, that's always been, you know, people in Maine see me as a labor guy, and I am.

But the reason why I really ran for the legislatures is because I was upset that people in my community couldn't get health care. And so that's been a big issue for me. So when I understood, you know, it came clear that abortion access is health care. it just changed for me. And over the last decade or more, you know, Planned Parenthood has had a 100% record for me, you know, endorsed me. You know, when Susan Collins was helping overturn Roe versus Wade here in Maine,

we were actually, I mean, I co-sponsored one of the most progressive reproductive rights bills in the country, fought incredibly hired for it. I made sure that low-income women had access under Maine care to abortion access. And, you know, now, I mean, yeah, I was wrong. But I'm very proud of my record over the last decade or more of fighting for access across the state. It's really easy to say things when you're just saying, you know, I was wrong or I don't agree with that. I wish more Democrats would do that. And Troy Jackson, I'm just curious real quick.

It's been a rough ride in Maine. Looks like Democrats and Republicans were all backbiting and against Graham Platner and trying to get them out of there. How are you feeling running against Susan Collins? Are you enjoying campaigning? Is this what you were dreaming about in life to do this? Yeah, no, I mean, I never once thought about this. But, you know, whenever everything happened, and, you know, I wish none of it had, when that all happened, for me, you know, the movement, the excitement,

the amount of people that here in Maine, I mean, I honestly, I've never seen anything like it. I've been waiting so long for people across the state to understand that we can change the system, but we have to come together. I mean, and I don't want to see that go away. And that's why, you know, I jumped in, but I've never, never considered this. I wasn't looking forward to it. I mean, I wasn't secretly hoping that something happened so I could get in. But I do want a government that works for people that I care about, and we don't have that right now. And that's why I am going across here campaigning.

And I know they're going to spend a lot of money against me. They're going to say a lot of stuff that isn't true. But they're scared. They know that they're doing the wrong things in D.C. They know that they're fighting for a select few of wealthy elite people. And that they're not, they don't, Susan does not have the majority of Maynors' backs. And they know that I do. And so I feel really good about it, although,

This is obviously a big deal, and I get it. But the thing for me is that I'm concerned about people in Maine and not letting them down. Susan Collins is worried about Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and people like that and Donald Trump. So we've got a big difference here, even though we're both from the rest of the county. The Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, Troy Jackson, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. Really appreciate it. Yeah, same here. All right. Take care.

Still ahead, we'll take you through the president's latest efforts to restrict mail-in voting, something he does ahead of the midterms. We'll be right back. President Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate today. It comes after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which Clayton refused to acknowledge that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Clayton's confirmation is likely to fall along party lines.

Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed more confidence in Clayton, who has had national security experience in his previous role as U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York than the current acting DNI, Bill Pulte. Still ahead, we'll dig into a new. major water crisis looming over 30 million people across the western United States as the reservoirs for the Colorado River are now at record lows. Morning Joe is coming right back. Welcome back. The Trump administration may soon impose sweeping water cuts to seven states that rely on the Colorado River.

It is a crucial lifeline for tens of millions of people out west, but water levels are hitting historic lows due to a prolonged drought. And as MS now reporter Britt Miller explains, the states can't agree on how to share the dwindling supply. A water crisis in the West. I don't know what the next metaphor is beyond five alarm fire, but we're maybe the house has burned down, but that's where we're at. Researchers like Jack Schmidt now warning about the critically low levels of two of the country's largest reservoirs, both Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which are fed by the Colorado River, are less than 30 percent full, their lowest combined level on record. The system is so low in an unprecedented sense that one good winner will not get us out of the jam.

It's a problem 25 years in the making that started after a dry spell in the early 2000s. From like 2006 to 2020, we limped along with a system that was only 40% full, and the system was vulnerable. And now we've blown through all of that water. The river provides water for at least 30 million people. And data suggests if Lake Powell continues to shrink, there won't be enough supply to generate hydroelectric power for homes and businesses. But agriculture will take the biggest hit, as the river irrigate. about five million acres of farmland that includes Hughes Sandberg's cattle ranch in Colorado. It impacts our ability to produce feed. The fourth generation rancher says he typically

irrigates 400 acres. That number has dropped to 25. Could it forces to not be able to ranch and have to look for other income streams to keep the property certainly? So the seven states using the river are trying to figure out how to reduce usage, but negotiations are reaching a boiling point with upper basin and lower basin states at a standstill. The federal government has to act like the grown up in the room and assert itself and say, well, if you guys can't agree, we will impose cuts. According to an Arizona water official, the Trump administration has proposed lower basin states cut their water use by up to twice the amount they initially offered. These reservoirs are just giant bathtubs.

And the bath, the amount of water in the bathtub is very, very low. And the only way you can maintain water in the bathtub is either by opening the faucet or closing down the drain. And after meeting with governors from all seven states, Interior Secretary Doug Bergam says a final water plan is set to be released sometime this week. Back to you. MS now is Britt Miller with that report. And still ahead on Morning Joe. Jim Van de High will go through his latest piece for Axius, the six stages of political surrender that allowed Donald Trump to take over the Republican Party. Morning Joe, we'll be right back.