This is the May 15, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
The second leg of the Triple Crown runs Saturday at Laurel Park, in Maryland. The Preakness Stakes is one of those rare afternoons where everyone suddenly has a horse opinion and a hat. Worth your attention, wherever you’re watching from.
For those whose sensibilities run more toward typography than thoroughbreds, NYC x Design Festival takes the city this weekend — 250-plus events spanning urban planning, graphic design, landscape architecture, and everything in between.
In the nation’s capital, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month gets its proper celebration at Fiesta Asia — D.C.’s largest pan-Asian festival. Dance ensembles, music, arts-and-crafts workshops, and the weekend’s most high-stakes competition: a noodle and spring roll cook-off.
If you’re heading to Georgia, grab your bikes, rackets, yoga mats, or a pair of sturdy walking shoes: The Atlanta Beltline is running a series of fitness-minded events for all levels through the month. Take your pick, break a sweat.
In Miami, Spray It Loud at the Wynwood Museum is running graffiti classes for beginners. They supply the cans, the ponchos, and the instructions. You bring the vision — and something you don’t mind ruining.
Out west, the LA County Fair is doing exactly what it always does — 500 acres of Skate-R-Cade sessions, Ferris wheels, concerts, petting farms, and enough to fill an entire California afternoon. Sometimes more is more.
And we’ll close with a pick from a Tea reader: Mahlerfest, a celebration of the composer’s life, works, and legacy, has returned to Boulder, Colorado, for its 39th year. Catch the final notes of Romantic symphony through this weekend.
As always, you’re welcome to write in with your suggestions!
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS
I would like to offer this in response to “Trump Derangement Syndrome” … Trump Infatuation Syndrome. I understand that GOP politicians keep supporting Trump because they’re afraid of being primaried and of his campaign war chest. But when it comes to citizens in the field, it seems to me that TIS is as good a way to describe why they still support him.
— Robby R.
Your biblical reference about the gold statue was spot-on.
— Gloria G.
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Somewhere over the arc of time that gave us extreme partisanship, it occurs to me that congressional candidates have begun to think and project to voters that they are elected to represent the Democratic or Republican party, respectively. It seems to me that some of this new crop of Democrats are more strongly reflecting the regional culture where they come from, giving voters the idea that they might actually go to Washington to represent the people that voted for them as opposed to the interests of merely their party.
— Margo R., Waldoboro, Maine
I believe that Donald Trump is doing all of these vanity projects in D.C. because he has no intention of leaving the White House. He doesn’t believe in the Constitution or the rule of law. Also, the Republicans who are in power are silent because they don’t believe in the Constitution or this country either.
— Juanita H., Ohio
I wanted to thank Joe for the beautiful tribute to his mom. It made me cry because I miss my own mom so much. She was a no-nonsense, old-school kind of mom — very tough but extremely loving underneath that exterior. I sure do miss her.
— Lisa M., Port St. Lucie, Fla.
I have watched “Morning Joe” since its beginnings and met you in Charleston, S.C., when you did your show from there. I have always appreciated your founding on-air commentators, and I just wanted to say how much I value Jonathan. He is outstanding in his incisive commentary and interviewing. The show has always exhibited a real talent for staffing both “Morning Joe” and “Way Too Early” with excellent reporting talent like Ali. Thank you for being a port in the storm.
— Anonymous
ONE MORE SHOT
Chinatown, New York City, 1950. This image is part of the Getty Images collection “AANHPI Heritage Month: Scenes From Chinatowns in the United States.”
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