by Joe Scarborough | Apr 24, 2026 | Morning Joe, News, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the April 24, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
JOE’S NOTE
Costs. Corruption. Chaos.
I’ve argued that that’s the message Democrats need to focus on if they want to win in November.
A viewer wrote in yesterday with two more worth adding:
Cruelty — as we’ve seen play out from Minneapolis to the courts.
And corrosiveness — the quiet, steady rot of constitutional and political norms.
Regarding corruption and the corrosive impact of our oligarchical government, Rahm Emanuel said it well this morning:
A member of the armed forces gets prosecuted for using insider information. But Wall Street insiders who make millions daily on incredibly well-timed oil trades minutes before war news is announced? Walk scot-free.
Same playbook. Different sets of rules applied differently with different consequences.
It’s as if these people think they’re operating in 1956 instead of 2026, in an age now when everything can be traced.
Hunter Biden’s $3 million Ukrainian business fee was a scandal “worse than Watergate” for most Republicans. It was rightly covered. But relative to what’s happening now — family members on television bragging about Pentagon deals, a crypto operation that made the Trumps hundreds of millions while everyone else got cleaned out — Hunter’s business deals were child’s play.
As with Mr. Biden, justice will come for lawbreakers. Count on it.
ON THE CALENDAR
It’s only April. The Red Sox are heading to Baltimore this weekend, and we’re choosing to remain cautiously optimistic. Here’s what else is going on:
Calling all bookworms, bookpilers, and book collectors: Indie Bookstore Day is tomorrow. More than 2,000 independent shops across
by Joe Scarborough | Apr 21, 2026 | Morning Joe, News, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the April 21, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I would have won Vietnam very quickly, if I were president.”
— President Donald Trump
CHART OF THE DAY
ON THIS DATE
Mark Junge/Getty Images
TEN YEARS WITHOUT PURPLE RAIN
On the morning of April 21, 2016, the world went quiet in a way it rarely does.Prince Rogers Nelson — born in Minneapolis, raised on music, and destined to transcend every category the world tried to put him in — was found dead at his Paisley Park home at 57 years old. He left behind a legacy of stardom, supreme rhythm, and iconic style. Known for his prolific lyrics and tenacious talent, Prince wrote, produced, and performed every song — and played every instrument — on his first five albums. In the summer of 1984, with “Purple Rain,” he became the first artist in history to hold the top film, the top album, and the top single in the country. All at the same time.
Other artists may come close, but none will eclipse his place in the hearts of those who loved him.
I never meant to cause you any sorrow. I never meant to cause you any pain.
We know, Prince. We know.
A CONVERSATION WITH RETIRED ADM. WILLIAM MCRAVEN
A two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire is set to expire tomorrow, prospects for further talks are uncertain, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted. Retired four-star admiral William H. McRaven joined “Morning Joe” — as his new book, “Duty, Honor, Country and Life: A Tribute to the American Spirit,” is
by Joe Scarborough | Apr 10, 2026 | Morning Joe, News, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
The Republican Party is feeling the strains that come from devolving from a political movement to a personality cult.
The “America First” president has become a military adventurer who threatens war crimes on a whim, antagonizes allies for sport, and turns a blind eye to the suffering of working Americans.
At the same time the U.S. military is achieving most of its goals in Iran, it is failing historically on the political front.
The Iranian regime survives, its nuclear program remains a threat, and the Strait of Hormuz is closed.
At home, gas is more than $4 a gallon as inflation rises sharply. The affordability crisis that cost Democrats the White House in 2024 will now likely destroy the Republican majority in 2026.
The loudest and most powerful voices on the right are striking out against a president they supported two years ago. And Donald Trump is responding with his own attacks.
This presidency is in a spiral. Peggy Noonan says it’s reached a new low. The question remains how bad do things need to get before Republican senators finally step in?
Tragically, that question always answers itself.
ON THE CALENDAR
The Red Sox are in St. Louis tonight, and I’ll be watching. Here’s what’s happening elsewhere across the country this weekend:
Out west, more than 100,000 people descend on the desert in Indio, California, for Coachella, now in its 25th year. Headliners include Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G — who makes history as the first Latina to top the bill. Stream it all free on YouTube.
In the Big Apple, the New York International Auto Show opens for its 126th appearance. Test-drive — or just admire — a
by Joe Scarborough | Mar 19, 2026 | Morning Joe, News, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the March 19, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Effectively, there’s zero net job creation in the private sector, which of course we’ve never had in our history.”
— Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, on new data showing no net job growth
JOE AND MIKA’S NOTE
MB: Let’s start with something that makes no sense: ICE is being funded while TSA agents aren’t being paid — even as security threats rise. This is insanity.
JS: It is. And this isn’t complicated. Democrats keep going to the Senate floor asking for unanimous consent to pay TSA workers, Coast Guard members, FEMA — people doing critical jobs.
Every Democrat says yes. Republicans say no. And the paychecks stop.
MB: To be clear, this could be resolved immediately.
JS: Today. Right now. If Republicans agreed, those workers would get paid. That’s it.
Think about the moment we’re in. Mika sent me a video yesterday of a suspect running through a crowd outside Gracie Mansion after someone yelled “bomb.”
NYPD moves instantly. One officer tackles the guy. Others surround him. They assume the risk — if it’s real, they’re the ones exposed.
Then they calmly clear the area. No chaos, no panic — just professionalism.
MB: That’s what Americans expect, and deserve, from law enforcement.
JS: Now compare that to what we’ve seen from ICE: agents in masks, chaos, no accountability.
Yet here we are. At a time when we need that same level of professionalism at our airports, on our coastlines, in emergencies — and Republicans are blocking pay for the people doing that work.
It’s all about
by Joe Scarborough | Mar 18, 2026 | Morning Joe, News, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the March 18, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Trump promised to get the U.S. out of ‘stupid wars.’ But now he and John Bolton are on the brink of launching us into a very stupid and costly war with Iran.”
— Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of national intelligence, while running for president as a Democrat in 2019
JOE’S NOTE
David Drucker, writer for The Dispatch and an opinion columnist for Bloomberg News, joined us today to break down the voter dynamics among registered Democratic voters amid the results from Tuesday’s elections in Illinois.
JS: David, what did last night’s election results in Illinois say about the strength of moderate candidates in the Democratic Party?
DD: Well, a Democratic poll for Third Way, a centrist think tank, found that the typical Democratic primary voter is a white woman over 55 without a college degree. Most Democratic primary voters end up being white, female, older, and not college-educated.
JS: What was your takeaway?
DD: It confirms a familiar pattern. In both parties, the most pragmatic presidential candidate usually wins the nomination. Voters may like passion, but when it’s time to choose, they go with electability.
The poll also showed voters want a fighter willing to take on Republicans, but their own views aren’t far left.
JS: After rarely discussing faith on the campaign trail for years, Democrats seem more comfortable doing so now. Is this why?
DD: One surprise to me was that 57% of Democratic primary voters identify as Christian, many as evangelical or born-again. It’s a reminder that most
by Joe Scarborough | Mar 6, 2026 | Morning Joe, Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea Spilled Morning Joe, The Tea, Spilled
This is the March 6, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
BREAKING: UAE cuts off Iran economic lifeline
]The United Arab Emirates acted early today on its threat to freeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets, a government official in the Gulf told me this morning. The UAE has long served as a financial hub for Iran and its business interests seeking to evade Western sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal reported that such a move by UAE officials would sever a key economic lifeline for Iran, cutting off its access to foreign capital and trade.
Iran, which has fired more than 1,000 missiles into the UAE, has suffered a sharp economic downturn that fueled public unrest in the weeks leading up to the American and Israeli strikes on the country.
And on that note, let’s turn to the weekend.
ON THE CALENDAR:
Much of the country is about to get its wish — later sunsets will begin this weekend as the clocks spring forward. Ready to make the most of the extra daylight? Start right here:
In New York City, the Lower East Side hosts the New Colossus Festival, welcoming almost 200 independent artists and musicians from all over the world to the city that never sleeps.
Spring may be around the corner, but you can bid farewell to the last dregs of winter at the Melt on Wall Street in Norwalk, Connecticut. Warm up over a soup crawl, cozy up in heated igloo tents, and toast some s’mores over a firepit.
Prefer to turn up the heat a bit more? Lace up your
