On Wednesday, the crew at MS NOW’s Morning Joe continued to react to the possible end of the Iran War in a segment that was began as an attack on the renovations to the reflecting pool on the National Mall. At the lead of the 7 AM, with a zoom in of the National Mall Reflecting Pool to the tune of “Green River,” co-host Mika Brzezinski remarked about the “algae-filled reflecting pool,” and Scarborough joked the “green algae adds a nice little contrast to it.” Brzezinski called the situation a “little bit of a metaphor,” before co-host Joe Scarborough turned to call the pool a “great habitat for insects of all kinds. He then remarked, “kids can go to the reflecting pool. Of course, they'll need to wear their masks, you know, their mosquito masks and - you know, and maybe walking mosquito tents. But still, what - it will be - it certainly adds a new dimension to walking down the mall right in the summer.”   Wednesday's Morning Joe joked about the new algae in the DC reflecting pool, as Joe Scarborough remarked that kids will need "mosquito masks" to visit. Willie Geist then implied the visitors will now have to take "all their vaccines" and "malaria pills." pic.twitter.com/c5PwUZ9k1R — Nick (@nspin310) June 17, 2026   It should be noted bugs have been an issue at the pool for many years, as according to this 2022 report on midges. Also, the use of hydrogen peroxide, a new cry from those against pool changes, has occurred before the second Trump term, including under Biden in 2022. Co-host Willie Geist turned and said everyone said the pool changes were a bad idea: And if only someone, everyone or people who know things had spoken up and said, ‘Well, if you painted a lighter color, it attracts more sunlight, it gets hotter, and it grows algae. That's a terrible idea. There's a reason we had it painted that way for all these years.’ If only someone had said that. He then implied the project was done only because Trump wanted to give someone a renovation project: “All the experts did say that. But Donald Trump had a pool guy. He wanted to give a contract to, right?”   Scarborough then closed the segment with a comparison of the reflecting pool to the Iran War: "...it's just like the Iran War, if people had only said this might have ended badly going into Iran." Mika responded with laughter: "Oh my gosh!" https://t.co/kYjkSL9meC pic.twitter.com/ZOqAO3ujG1 — Nick (@nspin310) June 17, 2026   After Giest was finished, Scarborough decided to connect it all to the Iran War: Well, I mean, if it's just like the Iran war, people have only said this might have ended badly going into Iran - As Scarborough seemed serious in his comparison, Brzezinski laughed at his comments and remarked, “Oh my gosh!” which was paired with laughter as she tried to regain composure. The freakout over changes to a poll that has had issues for many years has managed to still have taken up cover on many channels, including some of the big three of broadcast news, over more in-depth stories. The transcript is below. Click "expand": MS NOW’s Morning Joe June 17, 2026 7:00:43 AM Eastern MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Live look at Washington, D.C., and the algae-filled reflecting pool for you there. As we wake up on this Wednesday morning, top of the second hour— JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. BRZEZINSKI: — of Morning Joe, June 17th. So pretty, Joe. JOE SCARBOROUGH: I think it adds really - I think the green algae adds a nice little contrast to it. So, you know, it'd be boring— BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. SCARBOROUGH: — if it were just blue and nice like it used to be. So, the green algae kind of -  BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.  SCARBOROUGH: You know, you can kind of see it starting to kind of build and grow the center of it all. BRZEZINSKI: A little bit of a metaphor. Can't get it to go away. SCARBOROUGH: Listen, listen, this is going to be a great habitat for insects of all kinds. It's going to be very exciting.  BRZEZINSKI: 100 percent. SCARBOROUGH: Kids can go to—you know, Willie, kids can go to the reflecting pool. Of course, they'll need to wear their masks, you know, their mosquito masks and - WILLIE GEIST: Yeah. SCARBOROUGH: You know, and maybe walking mosquito tents. But still, what - it will be - it certainly adds a new dimension to walking down the mall, right, in the summer. GEIST: Yeah. You just got to get all your vaccines, like for international travel, if you go on a safari— SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. GEIST: — or something, you got to take your Malaria pills— SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. GEIST: -- and all that kind of stuff. If you're going to walk past the reflecting pool due to the wildlife now in the insects that will be attracted. And if only someone, everyone, or people who know things had spoken up and said, “Well, if you painted a lighter color, it attracts more sunlight, it gets hotter, and it grows algae. That's a terrible idea. SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. GEIST: There's a reason we had it painted that way for all these years.” If only someone had said that. All the experts did say that. But Donald Trump had a pool guy he wanted to give a contract to. SCARBOROUGH: Well, I mean, if it's just like the Iran War, people have only said this might have ended badly going into Iran - BRZEZINSKI: [Laughter] Oh my gosh!  SCARBOROUGH: - like, maybe - I do want to say this morning, though, just for people tuning in, there's thus far an unconfirmed report by Bloomberg, who has released the contents of the MOU draft— BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. SCARBOROUGH: — much of it has already been confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, confirmed by JD Vance. But Willie, I just want to go down to these numbers really quickly. Wall Street Journal talks about the ending of all sanctions, which is an extraordinary windfall that the Iranians could have never expected under any circumstances, certainly not before we began this disastrous war. JD Vance has admitted on TV to the 300 billion - he was asked about this $300 billion fund, which really is—it's reparations for Iran. It's as if we lost the war. $300 billion in the MOU language that we have seen, the draft language, says that the financing will be guaranteed by the United States of America.