This is the May 8, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
This Mother’s Day, I’ll be thinking about my mom, Mary Jo Scarborough, just as I do every day.
I wrote about Mom in the Washington Post the week she died in 2019:
My first memory of Mom was her comforting presence at my side while a late night thunderstorm roared over our neighborhood in suburban Atlanta.
Mom softly sang “Where Is Love?” from the musical “Oliver!” and then told me how reciting the 23rd Psalm aloud would bring peace.
I may not have felt that blessed assurance as a 4-year-old, but my mother’s presence always brought peace.
Mom and I were emotionally inseparable for 55 years, and as she lay dying, I wanted her life to end the way my memories of her began. I quietly told her she would continue living on in the hearts of those she loved, and that more importantly, she would soon be reunited with Dad.
I knew Mom could hear my quiet words, just as I knew what she would whisper back if she could:
“Joey, be more careful with your words. If you keep talking down Republicans, you might just elect a Democrat.”
That was Mom. A steel magnolia. A Southern Baptist. A traditional Republican.
She would scarcely recognize her church or party seven years later, and would tell me to keep up the fight she helped me begin 32 years ago when I first ran for Congress.
“Judge yourself by your enemies, Joey,” she would say when things got tough. Then she’d say, “Don’t let them get the best of you. Keep fighting!”
Mom was raised an FDR Democrat and couldn’t stand extremists on any side.
She would especially be offended by the excessive cruelty of right-wing politicians who justify their hatred of others by twisted views of what they call “Christianity.”
Faith always eclipsed politics in our home. And when things got too crazy in Washington, Mom would quote an old gospel song: “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”
Well, Mom, I’m so grateful that I was part of your journey on this Earth. And on this Mother’s Day weekend, I thank you for continuing to be a part of my life for as long as I’m blessed to live.
I love you,
Joey
ON THE CALENDAR
In New York, the Macy’s Flower Show wraps its final weekend at Herald Square — store windows in full bloom, stained-glass sunsets, fabric-draped planters. A perfect Mother’s Day outing. Go before it’s gone.
In the nation’s capital, the Arab American Culture Festival returns to Eighth Street for its fourth year, with food from places such as Morocco and Palestine, dabke dance troupes, and live Arabic music.
In the Windy City, Broadway’s longest-running musical, “Chicago,” brings its Jazz Age murder trials and celebrity media circus home for five nights at The Auditorium.
Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Springfest turns 40 this weekend — four decades of culture, music, and community in the neighborhood that gave the Civil Rights Movement its heartbeat.
You can’t spell “laugh” without L.A. and “ugh” — or so says Netflix Is a Joke. The stand-up comedy festival takes over Hollywood this weekend with 350 shows: Jenny Slate, John Mulaney, Jerry Seinfeld, and more.
Myrtle Beach Bike Week descends on the Grand Strand for 10 days this weekend, bringing half a million riders and considerably more leather than the average beach vacation.
The NBA Conference Semifinals are on all weekend. Knicks vs. Sixers on Friday and Sunday. Pistons vs. Cavaliers on Saturday. Thunder vs. Lakers Saturday night on ABC.
In Buffalo, the Sabres host the Canadiens Sunday on ESPN, in their first playoff appearance in 14 years.
And the Red Sox are home at Fenway against Tampa Bay.
Now, let’s check some mail.
MAILBAG
Thank you again to all our readers who wrote in this week. As always, you’re welcome to write to us any time.
I just want to thank you for naming the “Ballroom” the Marie Antoinette Ballroom. It is so appropriate. If [Sen. Lindsey] Graham is successful in making us pay for it, what happens to the $300 million in donations? Does Trump pocket it?
— Katherine G., Moorhead, Minn.
If past is prologue, we can assume the president will try to pocket any money he has raised for his own use. The bigger question for me is why Republican leaders were so tone-deaf that they voluntarily proposed taking $1 billion from taxpayers to fund this grotesque vanity project.
With gas prices skyrocketing, healthcare bills becoming more expensive by the day, and groceries taking a huge bite out of working Americans’ paychecks, a Marie Antoinette-style ballroom is the last thing most Americans want or need.
If there is a reduction in Social Security and Medicare coming, why should I, as a retiree and disabled veteran, be happy for the U.S. government to allocate $400 million for an unneeded ballroom and funds for an arch that is not needed?
— Joe W., Warsaw, Wis.
Thank you for your service to America, Joe.
You can look at my answer above to your question as well. Also, add to that the record deficits and crippling debt that Trump Republicans are passing on to Americans every day.
This week, America’s debt surpassed our country’s gross domestic product for the only time since World War II. Golden ballrooms and gaudy arches are the last thing America needs right now.
Republicans are spending like drunken socialists and they need to stop now. The cost to the next generation will be devastating.
Do you think it’s too late to save America? The government gets more out of touch every day. Even if Democrats win in November, so much damage has already been done. Thanks.
— Curtis E., Charlotte, N.C.
Curtis, America has survived slavery, 48 recessions, a civil war, Jim Crow laws, two world wars, Japanese internment camps, 1960s riots, Vietnam, Watergate, 9/11, two pandemics, and more crises than I can list here.
We will survive the challenges facing us now as well. We must remain vigilant and determined, and keep our heads about us. America is worth the struggle, especially when we have Madison’s Constitution and 250 years of history on our side.
If the “mutual destruction” argument worked to keep nuclear bombs off the list of Russian options for so many years, why doesn’t that argument work against the Iranians?
— Pat Q., Troy, Ohio
Because Iranian leaders who have ruled that country by terror since 1979 know they are fighting for their very lives.
For Donald Trump, the stakes are midterm elections that matter little to him. Still, as gas approaches $5 a gallon nationally, the political pressure for Trump to cut and run is becoming too great. That’s why the president ignored repeated Iranian attacks on U.S. warships and called our countermeasures a “love tap.”
What a weak, dangerous message to send to our enemies. Let’s hope the president shows real strength soon. Our national security depends on it.
ONE MORE SHOT
Sean Levey (in red), riding Secret Santa, wins the Ascot Hospitality Handicap Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England.
That’s all the time we have, folks.
Thanks so much for your letters and for reading The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe.
Have a great weekend.
Joe
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