This is the Nov. 5 edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Last night was a bad night for bro warriors and white nationalists.
Virginia elected its first woman to the governor’s mansion and its first Muslim — also a woman — to statewide office.
New Jersey sent its first Democratic woman to the state’s governor’s mansion.
And New York City — the financial and cultural capital of the world — voted in its first Muslim as mayor.
A year ago today, Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris and guaranteed his tumultuous return to the White House. In the foul wake that followed him there, “others” immediately became suspect: at the same time, MAGA allies seemed to be adopting an aggressively hostile attitude toward working women.
U.S. citizens and immigrants with brown skin fell under the glare of a regime that sent swarms of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into America’s neighborhoods — into pickup lines at schools, outside courtrooms where immigrants legally sought asylum and across communities where ICE stopped American citizens based on the the color of their skin.
It is all grotesque; it is also un-American.
Add to that toxic mix Trump’s historically high disapproval ratings, two-thirds of Americans believing the country is going in the wrong direction and a government shutdown that is hurting Republicans politically, and you have the ingredients of a political brew that left voters with a bad taste in their mouths.
Last night they said “enough!”
This is an absolute, 100%, top choice USDA repudiation of Trump.”
DEMOCRATIC BLOWOUT!
Well, that didn’t last long.
One year ago, Republicans and their minions on cable news networks and MAGA podcasts were crowing about the massive realignment that took place among Hispanic voters and young men in the 2024 election.
Much like when Karl Rove predicted a permanent Republican majority in 2004, that right-wing dream created enough memories to last a lunchtime. In the blink of an eye, Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House.
Fast-forward two decades, and Republicans are waking up once again to find a political world turned upside down.
In both New Jersey and Virginia, the majority of men under the age of 30 voted for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Exit polling in both states also showed almost 7 of every 10 Latino voters — 68 percent in New Jersey and 67 percent in Virginia — voting for Democrats.
These Republican candidates getting less than one-third of the Hispanic vote parallels Mitt Romney’s support among Latino voters in 2012. It also suggests that any gains Trump made in 2024 have vanished in a haze of masked ICE agents and inhumane treatment of Hispanic immigrants.
MAMDANI IS THE FOIL TRUMP WANTS
A guest essay from Jonathan Lemire
Zohran Mamdani is now the unlikeliest mayor in New York City history, concluding an improbable political journey with a resounding victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo last night. On his path to victory, he thrilled young voters in a way that few Democrats have in years.
The now mayor-elect will soon have to trade his lofty rhetoric for the gritty municipal work of ensuring public safety, digging out from snowstorms and confronting ever-widening income inequality. Previous New York mayors, of course, have had to take on those tasks, but Mamdani will also face a challenge unique to him: a brewing war with the president of the United States, himself a New Yorker.
New York City — a Democratic stronghold that soundly spurned Trump — has so far largely been spared the president’s wrath. That’s because Trump wanted to see who won the mayor’s race, and if Mamdani triumphed, he would use that outcome as justification to deploy troops in a city that, he said, would be left inherently unsafe under socialist rule. He’s also threatened to slash more federal funding and scrap more projects like the Gateway tunnel to New Jersey.
Mamdani told us on “Morning Joe” yesterday that he’s ready. “These are threats, many of which go far beyond the power of the presidency, and this is money that New Yorkers are owed,” he told me. “We’re going to use the courts; we’re going to use the bully pulpit; we’re going to use every tool at our disposal to stand up for our city.”
Read more from Jonathan in The Atlantic here.
The man just went from trolling to polling. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has endlessly mocked President Trump on social media over the past few months, but yesterday he delivered a very real blow to Trump’s long-term viability with an overwhelming victory in California’s ballot initiative. It might as well have served as Newsom’s first win in the 2028 race for the White House. The term-limited Democrat clearly has his sights set on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and his successful push to muscle through a redistricting plan in the Golden State is thrilling Democrats nationwide. A recent poll of the battleground state of New Hampshire puts the governor in second place for the Democratic nomination behind former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez currently ranks third. And Newsom’s brutal social media trolling of the president and his MAGA acolytes has made him a party favorite going into next year’s midterm elections. But not everyone is sold on Gov. Gavin’s presidential prospects. Last night’s exit polling shows a majority — 54% — of California voters say their governor should not run for the White House. As the old saying goes, a prophet is not respected in his own hometown. Especially if that town is Sacramento. Soccer star David Beckham was knighted by King Charles III this week — in recognition of his “significant contributions” to his country. “To be honest, a young boy from the East End of London, born in Leytonstone, and here at Windsor Castle, being honored by His Majesty the King — the most important and the most respected institution in the world — it’s quite a moment,” Beckham said. ‘As big as it gets’: Why it was a massive, massive night for Democrats Ali Vitali: These elections show when women run they can win Affordability was THE issue: Leader Jeffries on outcome of elections Next week, we’ll have Sen. John Fetterman on the show to discuss his new book, “Unfettered.” Want to ask a question? Send it over, and we will pick our favorite to ask on the show! Have more to say? Just write here. This has been The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe. See you next time!
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." Recommended
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