by Joe Scarborough | Nov 5, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the Nov. 5, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“It was a Watergate-level repudiation.”
— Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on the midterm elections
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed made history Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. The 42-year-old former Detroit health director won Michigan’s closely watched race by seven points, overcoming attacks on his faith and a massive spending disadvantage.
El-Sayed joined “Morning Joe” today to discuss the lessons of his victory, working with President Donald Trump, and why he believes Democrats need to rethink how they govern.
Joe Scarborough: Republicans repeatedly tried to link you to terrorist organizations because of your faith. Yet you predicted you’d win by seven points — and you did. What did you understand about Michigan voters that your opponents didn’t?
I’ve been me for 42 years. From my vantage point, there are always a few small-minded people who speak very loudly and claim to speak for everybody else.
I took a bet on a big Michigan — that Michiganders were going to reject this kind of politics. And I’m just so grateful that they embraced a big Michigan that includes all of us.
Willie Geist: You kept bringing the conversation back to the price of gas and groceries. How important was that to your victory?
I think it was about affordability and consistency. We have this buzzword in politics: authenticity. But authenticity isn’t about delivery. It’s about consistency.
We got outspent in our primary 11 to one, $70 million. In the general election, we were outspent by about $110 million. But it
by Joe Scarborough | Oct 6, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the Oct. 6, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Hello, “Morning Joe” Family!
We love hearing from you. Here’s what was on your mind this week. As always, you can write to us any time.
Joe, the Trump administration has long reminded me of “The Lion King,” with Trump playing Scar, the disinterested tyrant driven by revenge and self-aggrandizement. The Republicans are pitch-perfect as the mindless hyenas who bend the knee to the tyrant’s every whim, and the diminished Pride Rock reflects our country’s state of decline under Trump. Can you foresee a Simba on the horizon, coming to save us?
— Gary B.
What a great reference from popular culture. My children and I have seen “The Lion King” countless times, and I am always entertained and moved.
There have been many times in my life when I have fallen short of my goals and have not been the person I wanted to be. In those moments, I imagine hearing my grandmother’s voice repeating the words of Mufasa, telling me that I am more than what I have become.
The challenge to be more than we are applies to us personally and to America.
We are members of a republic that is so much more than what it has become. That hero on the horizon will not be a political superstar coming out of the wilderness. That hero is you.
We must demand more of our leaders, of our country, and of ourselves.
My favorite Carl Sandburg quote envisions an America “in the crimson light of a rising sun, fresh
by Joe Scarborough | Oct 2, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the Oct. 2, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“All things on earth point home in old October.”— Thomas Wolfe, “Of Time and the River,” 1935
Cool nights. Turning leaves. Sweaters. Football. Baseball playoffs.
October has arrived — even if the Red Sox won’t be part of it. Here’s what’s happening this weekend:
In Boston, things are getting chili at SpicetoberFest, a day of hot sauces and spicy food. Drinks are on hand for anyone who gets in over their head.
In Brooklyn, CultureCon takes over the Navy Yard, with Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali, John Legend, Daniel Kaluuya, Colin Kaepernick, and more.
In Philadelphia, it’s October 1777. The Revolutionary Germantown Festival returns to Cliveden with living history interpreters, tours, candle dipping, papermaking, blacksmithing, and a re-enactment of the Battle of Germantown.
Down I-95, Tom Morello’s Power to the People comes to Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday. Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Public Enemy, Brittany Howard, and special guest Bruce Springsteen are all on the bill. A portion of the proceeds will go to nonprofit groups focused on civic participation.
Farther south, Piedmont Park’s Splish Splash Doggie Bash is Atlanta’s annual canine pool party. Hundreds of dogs. One pool. All tails welcome.
Up in Chicago, the Big Apple comes to Lincoln Square as the neighborhood’s annual Apple Fest fills the streets with fresh-picked apples, cider, seasonal brews, live music, and food stalls. Sweaters encouraged.
In Texas, Austin City Limits marks its 25th year at Zilker Park. Charli XCX, Lorde, The xx, Twenty One Pilots, and Skrillex headline the first of
by Joe Scarborough | Oct 1, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the Oct. 1, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”
— Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 1916
They lie even when telling the truth would be better.
They can lie about Jan. 6.
They can lie about rigged elections.
They can lie about everything else.
But here’s what Donald Trump’s Republicans can’t lie about:
Grocery, gas, and diesel bills.
The price of rent, electricity, and healthcare.
American families are paying more for nearly everything than they were when Joe Biden left office, and they know it.
A new AP-NORC poll finds just 17% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living. About half now worry about being able to fill their tank and put food on the table.
Meanwhile, Republicans have grown so careless with the facts, they can’t even get straight whether somebody went to an Atlanta Hawks game.
Before Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Jack Smith of perjury, Republican staffers warned him the texts were unvetted. He used them anyway — and made a fool of himself in front of the world. Then he went on a right-wing podcast and doubled down.
It was a perfect microcosm of the Trump era. Lead with lies. Spread them around. Get caught. Keep lying anyway.
They think they live in a post-fact world. But the truth has a way of showing up.
In the end, there it is.
On every receipt in America.
CHARTS OF THE DAY
Source: AP-NORC poll of 2,140 adults conducted Sept. 24 – 28, 2026. Margin of
by Joe Scarborough | Sep 19, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”
You can never go wrong quoting Fitzgerald on the magic of fall, the warmth of winter dreams, or the glistening summer nights Gatsby spent gazing toward Daisy’s green light as it bounced off the Long Island Sound.
You could also go back to the summer of Mark “the Bird” Fidrych and be moved by the opening lines of Boston’s instant classic “More Than a Feeling”:
I woke up this morning
And the summer’s gone
Turned on the music
To start my day
And dreamed of a girl
I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away …
Instant. Classic.
I love Septembers in New York, but really love Octobers in Boston, because that means I’m in the seats at Fenway Park watching the Red Sox in the playoffs.
Since I refuse to set foot in Yankee Stadium, here’s hoping the Sox get past their wild card matchup in the Bronx to play a few games in the old ballpark.
In the meantime, this is the last official weekend of summer. Here’s how to make the most of it:
In New York City, Little Italy’s signature festival is celebrating 100 years of the San Gennaro Feast. Mott, Mulberry, and Grand streets will be packed with arancini, zeppole, braciole, and lotsa mozz. Buon appetito.
In Boston, What the Fluff? — now in its 21st year — is doing what it does best: turning marshmallow creme into civic pride. Expect gooey competitions, sticky tributes, and Fluffernutters at every turn.
Over in Detroit, the Savannah Bananas are bringing Banana Ball to Comerica Park on both days this weekend —
by Joe Scarborough | Sep 17, 2026 | Morning Joe, News Analysis, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the Sept. 17, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“‘Give us another chance’ might be the worst political messaging I’ve heard in a very long time. This is what your ex says after they cheat: ‘Just give us another chance.’”
—
Jim Messina, on Vice President JD Vance’s plea to voters ahead of November.
Ronald Reagan asked voters in 1980 whether they were better off than they were four years ago.
Republicans do not want voters to answer that question today. So they try to change the subject and twist the facts.
JD Vance told voters this week they shouldn’t give power to the people who “caused the problems that we’re fixing.”
The statement begs a simple question: How stupid does the vice president think we are?
Joe Biden has been out of office for 18 months. Republicans have had a monopoly on power in Washington since then.
As The Wall Street Journal wrote, Donald Trump owns the economy. He’s also tied to the lies he told on the campaign trail.
Trump promised no more “forever wars.” He then blundered his way into an unwinnable war with Iran.
He pledged to end the war in Ukraine on Day 1. Instead that bloody war drags on because Trump regularly provides comfort to the enemy.
He said he would bring down prices. But Americans are getting crushed by costs at gas stations, grocery stores, and the doctor’s office.
Trump vowed to secure the border by going after the “worst of the worst.” But too often it’s been hardworking immigrants and American citizens who have been stopped,
