The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: Friday edition

This is the June 19, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter.Subscribe hereto get it delivered straight to your inbox every Monday through Friday.

ON JUNETEENTH – By Rev. Al Sharpton

This year, Juneteenth comes to us at a defining hour in the life of this nation. It is a charge to rise to the moral demand this country has so often fallen short of. We know all too well that justice delayed is not an accident; it is a decision. So let us be clear: The work is not finished.

When the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free, they were hearing a truth deliberately withheld from them. On June 19th, we reflect on that injustice and indict every force that has tried to make people beg for what is already theirs.

We are living in a time when old fights have new names and new machinery. We are fighting for voting rights because there are still those who want to prevent our people from choosing their leaders. We are fighting redistricting schemes as representation is carved up and diluted behind closed doors. We are fighting for affordability and labor rights because freedom means nothing if families cannot live with dignity. We must not be found asleep while others work to turn back the clock.

This Juneteenth, let us honor the past by refusing to surrender the present. The work is not finished. The dream remains unfinished, and we must not go silent until the promise of freedom is not just remembered but realized.

ON THE CALENDAR

On June 19, 1865, the last enslaved Americans learned they were free. This weekend, the country celebrates — in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and beyond.

The nation’s capital marks the summer solstice with Fête de la Musique: Thirty acts across more than 10 locations in Georgetown. All of it free, all of it outside.

If you’re near Philadelphia this weekend, look up. The Chester County Balloon Festival is sending hot air balloons over Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Grounds all weekend long.

In the Windy City, roar your boat down the Chicago River for the Chinese Dragon Boat Race — 33 teams, intricately designed boats, one very good time.

More in the Midwest for the music-minded: Columbus, Ohio, is hosting Creekside Blues and Jazz across more than 30 stages this weekend.

In Boston, the Roxbury International Film Festival — New England’s largest film competition celebrating work by and for people of color — is back for its 26th edition.

And Sunday is Father’s Day. The Times put together 25 questions worth asking your dad. Three to start:

“Who were you before fatherhood?”

“What’s your deepest wish for me?”

“Are there things you wish you could say to your own father that you have never said?”

MAILBAG

You asked, Joe answered.

Now that we have a signed MOU, whatever that is worth, has the president made any mention of putting sanctions back on for Russian oil? When he first lifted those during the Iran war, it was to help alleviate soaring oil and gas prices globally.

— Matt R., Arlington, Va.

Matt, it will surprise no one that those sanctions remain lifted. Throughout the past year, Donald Trump has seemingly worked overtime helping Russian President Vladimir Putin achieve his ambition of seizing Ukrainian land at the negotiating table that they cannot win on the battlefield.

The president’s hatred of Ukraine is so great that he has refused to follow the lead of our Gulf allies. They, and the rest of the world, are looking to Ukraine’s success in drone warfare and asking for guidance and weaponry. Even in the midst of the Iran War, Trump refused to do the same because it would be a humiliating concession that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is, in fact, holding more cards than Putin.

Trump’s own Secretary of Army has testified that Ukraine is on the cutting edge of military weapons. And General David Petraeus has said if you want to see the future of warfare, look no further than Ukraine’s army.

And yet America’s leaders would rather hurt their country than admit the truth: that Ukraine can greatly help the United States in preparing for future wars.

On the Iran MOU, the question I have is how much of the $300 billion will be funneled to Trump or his family through some business deal. Why else make the deal unless his or his family businesses somehow benefit?

—Marcus M., Glenmont, NY

Marcus, there is no evidence any of that $300 billion will eventually make its way into the bank accounts of the Trump family, but if the past is any guide, I wouldn’t bet against it.

ONE MORE SHOT

Photo of handwritten record showing General Orders, Number 3, issued by United States Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865. It reads:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” The date of Granger’s issuance of the order is now celebrated as Juneteenth.