Morning Joe - Trump once again threatens Iran as war nears 8th month

Episode Date: September 21, 2026

 September 21, 2026 – 8am:·       Trump once again threatens Iran as war nears 8th month·       Trump faces busy week of meetings as U.N. gathers·       Trump to meet Zelensky, not scheduled to meet with Netanyahu this week·       NYT: Trump decides against joining Saudi strikes on Houthis·       U.S., China hold talks ahead of trump-Xi meeting·       Financial Times Opinion: ‘Scott Bessent’s Wobbly House’ by Ed Luce·       Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar walks back claims Trump ‘betrayed’ Hispanic voters·       Hegseth quotes bible verse to justify military action·       Dance Theater of Harlem’s ‘Firebird’ returns·       Trump: Arch will be ‘top grade military complex’·       MS NOW, CNN, and POLITICO filing lawsuit against White House over press ban 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.

The price of oil is gone up, and oil's in everything, and the price of fertilizer's gone up. I get all that. And I'm not going to get off the subject here. We'll talk about Iran some other time. But we're achieving our objectives in Iran, and without going into details, I think we'll be out of there in about six months. And when that happens, you're going to see the price of oil go down. and you're going to see inflation go down. That was Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana trying yesterday to convince voters in Nebraska

that the war will end sometime early next year. It's pretty remarkable, though, that his best case scenario, his encouragement to voters, as we now are a month or so away from an election, is that the war is going to end in the next six months. that's something that the people of Nebraska, that's something that voters all over America are going to be deeply concerned about. They're feeling the pain right now. Good morning and welcome to morning, Joe.

It's Monday, September 21st, to our Jewish viewers observing Yom Kippur, we wish everyone a meaningful and easy fast. And with us this morning, we have the co-host of our 8 a.m. hour staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire. We also have co-hosts of The Restis Politics Podcasts, the BBC's Caddy K,

columnist and associate editor of The Washington Post, David Ignatius, and U.S. national editor and columnist at the Financial Times, Ed Luce. We've got so much to talk about. David Ignatius, I just want to start with you before we get into all of our news, not just Washington, but Washington and capitals across the world have been locked in conversations and deep concerns over a possible eruption, further eruptions in the Middle East. That situation continues to melt down with the Houthi rebels, but also, of course, we keep hearing about the possibility of an attack against NATO countries from Vladimir Putin,

and it seemed to reach a heightened pitch throughout the weekend. And what can you tell us on both fronts? So, Joe, both these wars seem to me to be escalating, you could say, horizontally, spreading to different countries. The Iranians who were in a chokehold economically from U.S. pressure have decided to escalate by using their proxies. And the Houthis, their allies in Yemen, are formidable adversaries. It's clear from Trump's back and forth over the past few days. that he does not want to go into a new war against the Houthis. Iran's proxies in Iraq are able to hit the Saudi pipeline

that stretches from east to west, which was their key way to escape the impact of the closing of the Strait of Burmuz. That's now under attack. And in the Ukraine world, we're seeing Russia just absolutely bogged down at the front in Donetsk, escalating against the European supporters of Ukraine in increasingly aggressive ways. My European friends are really talking now about being on the verge, not of a hybrid wars, as they call it, but of a real war with real weapons and the beginnings of real casualties, struggling to think of how to deter that conflict.

So in all these ways, the UN is meeting in New York this week for its annual gathering with a world that's really closer to a kind of breakdown of the international order that I can remember in a long time. And we're not hearing clear responses from the president. No, it has, Katty K, the chaos, the concern, the spread of these wars, as David said, horizontally, two wars at the same time, causing deep concerns with allies across the Middle East and also, of course, across Europe and talk about how in Europe that concern has reached almost a fevered pitch. Yeah, I mean, actually, allies right around the world. I was in Hong Kong last week, talking to some business people there, and they are watching what is happening and feeling

the gas prices, the rice prices, the bread prices that have risen as far away as Asia because of what's happening in Iran. And they are all so confused about what America's strategy is at the moment. Well, maybe we'll get a better sense this week because President Trump has a packed diplomatic schedule this week beginning in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. And that's where the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along of course with artificial intelligence and the future of the UN itself are going to be expected to dominate discussions. Trump will arrive in New York today. He's got a meeting planned with Mayor Zoramam Dhani before he addresses nearly 130 world leaders at the UN tomorrow. On the sidelines of the United States of the United States, he's going to be in the

sidelines of the General Assembly, Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky. Zelensky says the two agreed to meet in New York after a phone call that they held yesterday, calling peace in Ukraine the top priority. One notable absence, though, from Trump's New York schedule is a sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is expected to address the General Assembly later in the week, but a meeting with Trump isn't currently planned. An official with the Trump administration cited scheduling.

difficulties. Meanwhile, as you were saying, Joe, the fighting is intensifying between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Over the weekend, the Houthis said they launched missiles and drones at Saudi capital Riyadh and at oil facilities in retaliation for Saudi air strikes and other attacks inside Yemen. It all comes amid continued fighting on the ground in Yemen as the Houthis pushed to expand territory there and around crucial shipping choke points in the Red Sea as well as the group seeks to establish greater control over that waterway. And as tensions escalate in the region, the New York Times is now reporting today that President Trump had for weeks been wavering over Saudi appeals for help in fighting the Houthis

before ultimately deciding yesterday not to join the strikes. Administrative officials tell the times that on Thursday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump to implore him again to set it to step in, to help blunt the group. Trump had said a day earlier he did not favor strikes, but after speaking with the crown prince, he reversed himself and told the Pentagon to prepare for them. Commanders had approved target lists and the wave of attacks was just about to begin, but by midday yesterday the president appeared to have reversed himself again. There would be no U.S. air strikes against the Houthis,

at least not for the time being, according to administration officials. So, Joe, you can see from those stories why allies around the world, allies in Europe, allies in Asia, allies in all parts of the world, the Middle East included, are thinking, how do we deal with the capriciousness that's coming out of Washington? We have to do what Mark Carney has said. We have to start making deals with each other. That is the backdrop to this week's United Nations General Assembly. Hey, coming up, we're going to preview President Trump's planned summit with China's leader as a two countries duel on everything from trade to artificial intelligence.

Ed Luce will weigh in on that straight ahead on Morning Joe. U.S. and Chinese officials are laying the groundwork for President Trump's upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi that's going to be on Thursday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, and the Chinese Vice Premier met yesterday to discuss trade investment and artificial intelligence, along with the issue. related to the Iran war. All of these talks come as Washington and Beijing are trying to preserve a fragile trade truce that is set to expire in November. The discussions are also aimed at managing new tensions over AI and critical supply chains as the two countries compete over the technology. Ed, you've been writing about all of this. You've got multiple pieces looking at Trump and Xi, but also Scott Besson and his meetings with the Chinese. What are you learning?

Well, remember back in May when Trump met with Xi in Beijing that delayed summit because of the Iran war, he promised at the really content-free summit, but he promised the one slither of sort of hope from it was Trump and Xi agreed they would discuss guardrails for AI. And that implied that in between that meeting and the one that's taking place this week, the state visit, the White House banquet for Xi this week in Washington, that there would be working group. that there would be all kinds of activity going on between American and Chinese officials to try and understand each other's AI position, not just because AI, you know, is an extinction level event according to people in that industry, but more in a more mundane level, because it's the future of warfare. And it's really important China and America do what the Soviets and the Americans did over nuclear weapons, that they understand what each other's up to.

Nothing's happened in the meantime. There have been no working groups. There have been no discussions. Now, Scott Besson did yesterday in New York meet with his Chinese counterpart, and they've agreed that they will discuss AI, but that's no real difference to what Trump had said in May. So that's a big problem. But I think the larger picture here is that America could have built coalitions,

both in Asia and in Europe globally with America's allies, to try and sort of have a dialogue with China, but to sort of hem it in a little bit with its increasingly ambitious agenda. And America's allies are just not ready to do that. And Trump, even if Trump were prepared to try, they wouldn't be ready to do that because there is such bad breakdown of relations between America and its allies. And so what we see is because of the war in Iran, the one American battle carrier group, the USS George Washington, that was based in the Asia Pacific in China's neighborhood. That's no longer there. There isn't a battle carrier group in the region. It's been moved to the Middle East to replace the Abraham Lincoln, which, as you

know, had the longest deployment ever. And so if you're Xi looking at Trump and wondering what Trump's agenda is, along with the rest of us, I'm wondering what the strategy is here. You're thinking, this is like sort of playing. It's like kids play. It's child's play. There is no American strategy. So she's in a strong position. Yeah, you know, she is thinking about the possible invasion of Taiwan. Donald Trump is thinking about putting sniper bullets inside the grand arts. She is thinking about getting a generational advantage over the United States of America on trade.

Donald Trump is thinking about the reflection. pool. It's certainly what he has to be thinking. And, you know, Ed, last week you had a story about a column about the Treasury Secretary's deeply unsurious attempt to stand in front of a locomotive called the bond market and try to actually stop the bond market from moving in the direction that he was moving, the Wall Street Journal the next morning said, you've got to be kidding me. Does he really think that this is going to impact the long-term movement of the bond market? Again, these people are supposed to be conservatives. They should understand better the power of markets. They should understand better the problem that wars and deficits and a 40 trillion plus

debt and inflation is going to have on bond markets. It was deeply unsurious. And you wonder what other Treasury Secretary would actually, I'm sorry, look so much like an amateur to try to do something that, again, the Wall Street Journal editorial page called out the next morning. Yeah, I mean, I've sort of come to think of Scott Besson as the Pete Hagseth of the Treasury. It's a very performative testosterone. Okay, that's slow. I'm okay. You know, it's too late for me to withdraw that analogy.

But it's a very sort of testosterone-fueled performance. It's clearly designed to please the president and catch the president's attention. But it's been tried and tested and failed with the bond markets. He said to the bond market something really hubristic, which is, I am the house. Don't bet against me. No, you're right. And the markets did bet against him. And he lost.

He put in $6 billion into a $1 trillion daily turnover market to try and bring yields down, to bring interest rates down. It failed. The bond yields, the U.S. Treasury bond yields kept going up. Now, if he wanted to address the real drivers of rising American borrowing costs, he would go for the fiscal deficit. As you say, Joe, $40 trillion debt, but there's a $2 trillion budget deficit. 7% of American GDP, but Besson has no plan to bring down the budget deficit.

He's announced no plans. And therefore, the market said, well, we don't really believe that you're going to do whatever it takes. He didn't say whatever it takes. He just said, I am the house. And it turns out he isn't the house. And I find this very puzzling because the most precious thing a Treasury Secretary has is the credibility of what he says, of his work. because he might need that credibility, you know, when there's a market crisis. He'll need the market to believe what he says.

And he seems to be spending credibility like nobody's business. So it's a real puzzle as to what Scott Besson thinks he is doing. Coming up, three news organizations, including our own or filing a lawsuit today against the government. After the administration banned reporters from the White House, those details straight ahead on Morning Joe. Welcome back. Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida appears to be backpedaling her suggestions that President Trump betrayed Hispanic voters. Now on Friday's show, you'll recall, we played for you the campaign ad released last week in which Congresswoman Salazar claimed that Trump's immigration enforcement efforts had gone too far. And she pointed out that half of the

50,000 people detained in July had no criminal record. Trump, with Trump. Excuse me. Salazar met with Trump after the ad was published. And then later told CBS's Face the Nation about their conversation. It was a very good conversation. He was a gentleman, very courteous, very receptive. And I told him exactly what you just repeat it.

Sir, you have this moment in history where you can keep the pot of gold that you brought to the GOP in 2024. No other president. and you know I covered for 35 years Spanish television. No other president was able to convince the Hispanics to vote 55 points for a GOP president. Please preserve that fortune that you have brought to the party. Salazar was also questioned about her claims that Trump is getting bad advice on immigration from his advisors, but avoided naming anyone specific.

I think that some of his advisors are compromising his legacy. I think it's my duty. It's my duty not to attack. There are no attacks here. I'm just for warning him and advising him as a member of Congress from the South Florida area that some of his advisors are just not presenting the whole picture. Secretary Mulling? Immigration enforcement.

Tom Holman, Stephen Miller. Listen, he is the only elected official in the White House. He is the one who has to determine who he listened and who he does not listen to. He is the president. What I'm doing is I'm coming from an elevated emotion. I'm coming from a good place. I'm telling him, sir, look what you did. Don't squander it.

Some backpedaling indeed. Still ahead here on Morning Joe, we're going to bring you the latest on President Trump's threats to demolish the Kennedy Center after courts repeatedly ruled that only Congress could possibly add Trump's name to that building. MS now legal analyst, Joyce Van Gogh. We'll join us to explain what could come next in that legal battle. Morning Joe, we're right back with that and more.

Live shot there of Dallas, breathing a little easier this morning after the Cowboys leveled the record at one and one. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseff was in the state of Texas over the weekend, kicking off with the DoD has deemed the Sendmi tour. Hegset spoke to the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University and invoked a Bible verse to justify U.S. military action. If you know your book of Isaiah, chapter 6, verse 8, the Lord said, who will I send? And Isaiah says, Lord, I'm here. Send me. Send me. And if you think about it across the 250 years of our country, I know you've got 150 years of this great core here.

Over 150 years of this core and 250 years of the country, there have been men to women who raised their right hand. And they said, send me. Send me to go forward. fight the redcoats. Send me to go fight the communists. Send me to go fight the Islamists. And you are saying, send me to go fight whatever threats threaten our nation for the next 250 years. Now, of course, this is hardly the first time that Hague Seth and others in the Trump administration have used biblical or religious rhetoric to push military objectives. And some have warned that inflamed the situation with Iran. We should remind everyone, of course, it is a non-denominational military here in the United States, despite what Hegsef keeps saying.

Still here on Morning Joe, President Trump is trying to put a new spin on his triumphal arch, now claiming it's needed for national security. We'll talk about that giant leap, a ludicrous leap toward a justification when Morning Joe comes right back. At the Dance Theater of Harlem's performance of the iconic Firebird ballet, which returned to the theater's repertoire after more than two decades. Now the production, a tale of love and transformation, has re-emerged as a signature work for the company and is being featured as part of a co-production of a special

three-performance engagement at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. That'll be later this month. Joining us now, Dance Theater in Parliam's artistic director, Robert Garland, and executive director, Ana Glass. Our thanks to you both for being here this morning. morning. Thank you. Congratulations on this. Anna, starting with you, just for those who are not familiar with the theater, what you do there, remind those watching. Tell us a little bit about it and why this performance of Firebird has become so central. Sure. Thank you so much for having us this morning.

So Dance Theater of Harlem was founded by the legendary Arthur Mitchell, who was the first black principal dancer of any major dance organization. And Mr. Mitchell felt very strongly that this beautiful art form belonged to all of us. And he created this institution, first a school, then a company with the intention of embracing this art form and ensuring that all people saw themselves. The return of the firebird is a really important part of that story for us. The firebird was created by a gentleman by the name of John Taylor. Harris with the legendary artwork of Jeffrey Holder. It is a ballet that is told and set in the

Caribbean. It is very distinctive for us, and we are really honored to have this ballet back in our repertoire. So Robert, tell us about this particular production and why it's so meaningful to have it in the nation's capital, particularly at this moment. Wow, you know, it's wonderful to have this ballet and actually the whole program, the dancer Harlem, returning to this moment and in this time. The National Theater actually predates the Kennedy Center as the theater that everyone went to in Washington, D.C. And the National Theater has its own history,

and we are becoming part of that legacy in that history as well. We're performing not only Firebird, but some several other ballets. You're looking at footage of Mr. Balanchine's Donizetti variations, along with my ballet return set to the music of James Brown and Aretha Franklin, and the program closed, closes again with the iconic Firebird. And also we should note that the lead dancer, Alexandra Hutchinson, is from D.C. area, excited to go back. So, Anna, speak to us about the importance of the arts right now. I mean, you know, Robert just invoked the Kennedy Center, which, of course, its future is very much in doubt at this moment, a true tragedy.

Not just who loves the arts, but those in D.C. and frankly, the entire country, at a moment of such turmoil and strife and division and distraction, why do you think it actually arts are so vital at this moment? You know, the arts are about storytelling. They're about seeing yourself. They're about seeing your experience. But what's so amazing about the arts is that it's an opportunity to bring people. together. You come into a theater, you're sitting next to someone that you may not know, but you're all witnessing something that's extraordinary. And in a time like this, it's so important to have opportunities to bring people together. You know, this is why it is really important for all of us to continue supporting the arts. You know, the Kennedy Center holds a very special place in all of our hearts. It is a very important institution, an important acknowledgement of

of the President Kennedy, and there are a number of arts organizations across this country. We're so grateful to be partnering with Washington Performing Arts here in D.C., but we will be all over this nation, and we hope that you will see us as we tour. You can catch the iconic Firebird Ballet

this weekend, September 25th and 26th, at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. Artistic director, Robert Garland, and executive director, Anna Glass of the Dance Theater of Harlem. Congratulations. Best of luck. our thanks to you both. Thank you.

Up next to your morning, Joe, the latest development surrounding President Trump's ban of members of the press from the White House, an important story. We'll be right back with that. President Donald Trump

now says his plan triumphal arched the nation's capital would also serve, in his words, as a top-grade military complex to house drones and snipers. Trump made the announcement on social media yesterday, claiming the Pentagon requested the move

while appearing to invoke national security to justify the militarized redesign. Trump's original 250-foot-tall arch has faced legal challenges since he first announced it, including a pending lawsuit filed by Vietnam War veterans. He's settled on a national security argument for the ballroom. He's trying to do the same here. It's insane. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Kennedy Center there in Washington

over the weekend following reports that Trump could be planning to tear down the story to institution. Last week, the Kennedy Center Board, which is composed mostly of Trump loyalists, voted to close the building for two years for renovations, citing alleged safety concerns. But Trump has threatened not to carry out those renovations unless his name is added back to the facade of what was the congressionally authorized memorial to slain President John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, the three news organizations banned by the Trump White House over the weekend are taking legal action against. the administration. A joint statement from MS now, CNN and Politico reads this way. This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.

Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalist's credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press. freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference. Reporters from the outlets were denied entry to the White House on Saturday and stripped of their credentials. Let's bring in former U.S. Attorney and MS. Now legal analyst Joyce Vance and MS Now senior White House reporter Vaughn Hilliard, who joins us live from just outside the White House because he's not permitted through the security perimeter because his heart pass was taken away. Von, starting with you, there are some who might be tempted to write this

off as like, oh, it's a media story, you know, the reporters are being self-indulgent, like who really cares about the latest between the president and the Beltway press? That's not what this is. This is something far more serious. It is a First Amendment concern. So talk to us about what is happening to the reporters at MS now, but as well as CNN and Politico. We're still doing our jobs, but talk to us what is the latest there and the rumblings that Trump may be trying to kick other outlets out soon. Right, John, this is about the constitutional infringement on media organizations and the ability of the executive branch to decide who is able to question the president, cabinet officials, and other administration officials here. That is what is at stake,

and there are immediate implications we should be very clear about. This is not about smelling the grass out on the White House North Lawn. This is about the ability of news organizations to enter the secure perimeter, to be able to ask people like John Solomon about election fraud claims, the Agriculture Secretary about tariff implications, Stephen Miller, about the National Guard's continued presence across Washington, D.C., to ask other officials these questions in real time. And instead, what you have is the president attempting to hand-select who can and cannot have access to him and his administration officials. Today, for instance, the president is set to head to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. CNN is the individual entity that

was the pool representative today, meaning that they were going to be the ones to send a reporter, producer, and a video camera in that would be shared with all other news organizations. Because CNN has been barred by the White House, that will not take place. Instead, there will be only one TV camera inside of these rooms with the president as he meets with other foreign dignitaries. That one outlet is real America's voice, which folks may know is the MAGA promoting outlet where Steve Bannon's show is aired on a daily basis.

And so there will be no footage of the president in these high-stakes meetings, but even more so, there will be no reporter from CNN on behalf of all of our news organizations there to ask those questions. Those are the immediate state. But of course, John, as you know, this is not about CNN, Politico, and MS Now. It's also about the precedent that is said for news organizations three years from now,

50 years from now, 100 years from now, and the extent to which they are constitutionally protected to ask questions of the executive branch. We will keep doing our jobs, but this is a serious concern. MS now, senior white arch reporter Von Hilliard Bond, thank you so much. And Joyce, you wrote a piece about this situation, noting, look, you know, this is the lawsuit. Trump will lose these lawsuits. He's lost others along these grounds. But this is about something far, far bigger.

This is about the first amendment. It really is. Put simply, Jonathan, this is a case about whether the press can criticize the president and criticize his administration. The Constitution very clearly says yes. The White House has said no, and the courts will inevitably say that the journalists among us can do their jobs, that we're entitled to a free press. But the issue is whether this will have some collusive force, whether other people in the press will feel intimidated, will try to pull their punches in order to maintain their access. And so it's an important moment. It's great that the three news entities have banded together to file this lawsuit quickly. So, Joyce, I mean, let's speak on that. This is the kind of behavior that is we are

associate with other countries, with authoritarian leaders, not a democracy, not these United States. It's incredibly undemocratic. And it's shocking in many ways. I think we've lost our capacity to let this administration shock us. But it's a blatant violation. Both of the Fifth Amendment's due process guarantees and of the First Amendment, which prohibits viewpoint discrimination and retaliation against journalists for expressing a point of view. The administration is very comfortable, nonetheless, with going on the attack against journalists. That's what we need to pay attention to here. The attack, the effort in advance of the midterm elections to silence the free press. That attack continues this morning, Trump on True Social calling the press a threat to national security,

No, sir, we're a vital part of this democracy. Former U.S. Attorney, MS. Now Legal Analyst, Joyce fans. Joyce, thank you so much. We will read from that new piece on the matter on Substack. That does it for us this morning. We'll see again tomorrow at 6am Eastern. Money, power, politics with Stephanie Rule, is up next here after a short final break.