This is the Nov. 19 edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
America needs more heroes.
As Bobby Kennedy said in his 1966 “Ripple of Hope” speech, numberless “diverse acts of courage” collide to shape the course of human events. Now is our time to act.
Keep your camera phone on when a masked man demands you turn it off while he is illegally assaulting a mother.
Speak up for a college classmate when those around you are slurring a Jewish or Muslim student.
Get up on your feet and speak the truth, even — and especially — when your honesty will be met by boos.
Today on “Morning Joe,” Ken Burns spoke about his new documentary, “The American Revolution,” and the bravery it took to launch the American experiment.
“At the end of the Declaration of Independence,” he reminded us, “our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.”
Then Burns asked the question: “Who among us would pledge their lives and their fortune for this new thing called America?”
“Who would be willing to die for a cause?” he asked.
Who would be willing to give up their money?
George Washington was the richest person in America at the start of the revolution — yet he was willing to sacrifice everything to lead an army that lost most of the battles it fought.
But Washington won that war, and his victory launched a republic that would feed and free millions of people over the course of the next 250 years. The men and women who rose to the challenges of that time were, like all of us, gifted and flawed. But their courage, not their perfection, is what carried the nation forward.
This era may seem to demand less of us than the historical moments that summoned Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin — but that doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t high.
They are.
So take that picture when a mother is beaten to the ground, give that speech that others are afraid to deliver and defend your classmate — even when it might cost you friends.
Create a ripple that turns into a wave that will break down the mightiest walls of oppression.
And then, yes, watch Burns’ new documentary. It’s a great one — and a reminder of what courage, multiplied a million times over, can do.
“Things happen.”
MADE IN CHINA
While the Trump administration obsesses over invading American cities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and National Guard troops, China is lapping the United States in the race for the future.
The New York Times reports today that when Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg launched the company’s Superintelligence Labs, he sought the 11 most talented minds in artificial intelligence. At the end of the search, 7 of the 11 he chose were Chinese-born.
Industrywide, Chinese researchers fill 38% of the top AI positions at U.S. institutions, and 40% of America’s top AI researchers earned their undergraduate degree from Chinese universities — a sharp rise over the past decade.
And those ICE raids targeting foreigners? They are driving more global talent away from elite American universities and AI companies. So instead of attracting the brightest minds from around the globe, the United States is instead falling behind in the battle for its own future.
The White House’s misguided priorities are weakening America’s economy and national security. When will Republicans notice?
FOR EUROPE, EPSTEIN MATTERS. PUTIN MATTERS MORE.
Guest essay by Katty Kay, co-host, “The Rest Is Politics US,” and correspondent, BBC Studios
I’ve just spent a few days in Norway. Yes, even 4,000 miles away from Washington, D.C., they are interested in the Epstein files.
But they are a lot more interested in their own safety. Norway shares a 200-mile Arctic border with an increasingly aggressive Russia, and Norwegian intelligence says Moscow has stepped up cyberattacks — including taking control of a Norwegian dam this year. Water flowed for hours before the breach was detected.
Jeffrey Epstein is one thing; Vladimir Putin is a whole different matter.
After hearing the alarm of Norwegian energy and security officials, I asked the prime minister if Norway is on a war footing. No, he said — but it is on a defensive footing. Last year, the United States sent the USS Harry S. Truman to visit Oslo as a show of support. Would President Donald Trump deploy the aircraft carrier to Norway again if Russia were to test the Arctic border?
At the urging of Trump, Norway is upping its defense spending. It’s no coincidence that the country drastically increased its aid to Ukraine this year, doubling it to approximately $9.2 billion. It understands the risks. Even Norway’s right-wing populist party supports more aid for Ukraine.
Like many European countries I’ve visited this year, Norway is bewildered by the White House’s attitude toward its old allies. Especially at a time like this. Sometimes I feel like a therapist — with a specialty in family breakups.
THE TRUMP TOUCH LOSES ITS SHINE
Donald Trump has spent decades trying to prove that his name alone could turn anything — casinos, cable news, steaks — into gold.
But this week, the Midas myth cracked: His media company’s stock didn’t just fall, it staged a full swan dive — hitting its lowest point yet. That left Trump with the one thing he hates more than losing: numbers he can’t spin.
Trump Media & Technology, the social media-meets-crypto mashup bearing his initials — DJT — as a ticker symbol, scraped an intraday low of $10.32, the worst performance since the company first promised it would take Trump’s digital empire public. The stock has now collapsed almost 70% this year.
And the repercussions have slipped from the headlines into the Trump family’s own balance sheet. The president indirectly holds 115 million shares in the company through a trust in Donald Trump Jr.’s name, a stash that once made the family’s stake worth $6.5 billion. Today, more than $5.3 billion of that has evaporated.
The problem isn’t just DJT’s business model — but the marriage to bitcoin. After Trump Media stuffed $2 billion into digital assets, bitcoin’s plunge below $90,000 dragged the company down with it, turning a bold “strategic reserve” dream into a very public misfire. Even Trump’s pro-crypto policies and Securities and Exchange Commission rollbacks haven’t stopped the bleeding.
And so DJT, once hyped as proof that Trump could bend markets to his will, now trades closer to a warning label. A stock that flirted with $100 in the glory days when the company went public is now fighting to stay above 10 bucks — a reminder that even in Trump World, gravity eventually wins.
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
SPILL IT!
This week, comedian Patton Oswalt joins us to discuss “Black Coffee and Ice Water,” his new Audible Original stand-up special. Want to ask a question? Send it over, and we will pick our favorite to ask on the show!
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."