This is the April 16, 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
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
— Pope Leo XIV, April 16, 2026
CHART OF THE DAY
MORE SPENDING AT WAR, LESS SPENDING AT WAR
LARGEST DEFENSE BUDGET IN HISTORY
MORE DEBT, SLOWER GROWTH
ON THIS DATE
On April 16, 1963, using scraps of paper and eventually a notepad his lawyers left him, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., composed “Letter from Birmingham Jail” — a response to white clergymen who told him to slow down that became one of the defining texts of the civil rights movement. He closed with this:
“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty.”
Fifty-five years later, on this same date, Kendrick Lamar became the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music — for his album “DAMN.” and its “vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism” in capturing the complexities of Black American life.
A CONVERSATION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY
The national average for gas is currently $4.09 — up from $3.17 a year ago — and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday it will take at least another month for prices to come down. Donny Deutsch, Mike Barnicle and Pablo Torres joined Joe this morning to discuss what rising costs mean for everyday Americans — and how one proposal in New York City aims to address growing inequality.
JS: Even before the war in Iran, there was a massive affordability crisis — one the president didn’t want to talk about. His administration is still blaming Joe Biden, despite the fact that inflation now is higher than it was when the president took office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Donny, how is what’s happening in Iran impacting Trump politically here at home?
DD: I think historians will view what Trump’s done in Iran as a winning move. But I think politically, it’s going to cost him short-term. People vote based not on what’s going on in Iran, but on what’s going on at the gas pump and grocery store.
JS: Working Americans aren’t worried about the Strait of Hormuz or Iran’s nuclear program. They’re worried about falling further and further behind.
My dad, when he was 40 years old, got laid off in a recession. I remember driving across the South for a year and a half with my family while he was looking for a job. You never forget that. Every Friday night he would be leaned over, looking at how much money we had, trying to figure out how his family of five was going to get through the next week.
That’s the story of millions of Americans. It’s not getting easier.
MB: Every day, the language of politics moves further from the lives of ordinary Americans. People are sitting around the kitchen table, getting their kids ready for school, listening to public figures and thinking: They have no idea how I’m living. They don’t understand the cost of a box of cereal. And rising gas prices are nothing compared to the cost of health care in this country.
JS: Pablo, cost, corruption, and chaos took down Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, one of Trump’s closest allies. Are we seeing something similar in the U.S. with the collapse of Republican support among voters under 40?
PT: Yes — all of those things. Young people were promised no more foreign wars and a domestic focus. Instead, JD Vance is behind a podium in Hungary, campaigning for the country’s autocratic leadership. The question is: What was promised, and what was delivered? The product — contrary to what the market is saying — is worse.
JS: Donny, tell us about the proposed pied-à-terre tax [in New York City] — a surcharge on luxury second homes for people who don’t live here — and what it would mean for growing inequality in New York?
DD: The argument against raising taxes on the wealthy is that 1% of people pay almost 50% of taxes — and you’ll trigger a hemorrhage to Florida. But this is different. This is revenue from people who own a second home here and don’t live here. As much as I like to take shots at the mayor, this is a smart move.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.
Pope Leo +34, Trump -12
He called the Pope “WEAK on Crime.” He claimed personal credit for his election. He posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself as Jesus.
President Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV — spanning Iran, immigration, and the administration’s use of Christian theology to justify the war — shows no sign of stopping. This morning, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine stepped in to defend Leo’s remarks.
The political math is striking. A recent NBC poll puts Leo’s net favorability at plus 34. Trump’s sits at minus 12 — and his Catholic support has slipped below 50%, with 60% now disapproving of his handling of Iran.
Pollster Alex Tarascio isn’t convinced the feud moves votes. “They know this about him. They know that he gets in fights with people.”
But the blowback has been swift. The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, said “pretty much every Catholic I spoke to, from progressive Catholics to traditional Catholics, were appalled” — and historians of religion say Trump’s attacks on the pope are unprecedented.
Leo, meanwhile, has not backed down, telling reporters he has “no fear” of the Trump administration.
His brother saw it coming: “He won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
EXTRA HOT TEA
48%
— The increase in iPod sales in 2025, per refurbished electronics site Back Market. Apple stopped making the devices years ago — but they’re back, driven by younger users looking to escape the doomscroll.
ONE MORE SHOT
Raccoons — gamboling and happy — in a world where Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t undertake the castration of critters as a pet project.
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
The post The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: ‘Woe to those who manipulate religion for … military, economic and political gain’ appeared first on MS NOW.
