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THE BIG PICTURE
Trump is threatening to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, posted a second AI Jesus image hours after the first scandal, and is sending thousands more troops to the Middle East while simultaneously claiming the Iran war is "basically over."
The cracks in MAGA unity are widening fast: six House Republicans broke ranks on immigration, the Senate failed to stop the Iran war for the fourth time, and Democrats are raising record midterm cash as Trump's poll numbers hit new lows.
Meanwhile, Ketanji Brown Jackson just delivered the most blistering public attack on the Supreme Court's conservative majority in living memory.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
1. Trump Threatens to Fire Jerome Powell — and the Fed's Independence Is Now on the Line
Trump began Tax Day by threatening to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he stays on the central bank's board after his term as chair expires next month (The New Republic). This isn't bluster — it's a direct attack on the one institution that has historically served as a circuit breaker against executive economic recklessness (AP Politics). Coming as gas prices surge from the Iran blockade and Republicans struggle to convince voters that Trump's 2025 tax cuts have done anything for them (The Guardian US), threatening the Fed signals that Trump's economic strategy has curdled into desperation. Fox Business accidentally fact-checked him live on air when the Dow graph on screen directly contradicted his claims about the economy (The New Republic).
2. Ketanji Brown Jackson Goes to War With the Court's Conservative Majority
In the most significant public dissent from a sitting justice in recent memory, Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered a lengthy, scathing takedown of her conservative colleagues' use of emergency-docket orders to benefit the Trump administration — calling them "scratch-paper musings" and warning that "the court has left confusion in its wake" (Huffington Post News). The Guardian reported her full condemnation of the pro-Trump rulings issued last year (The Guardian US). Separately, a public spat between Sonia Sotomayor and Brett Kavanaugh spilled into the open, with Sotomayor forced to apologize after criticizing Kavanaugh over ICE raid rulings (The Guardian US). The court's internal tensions are now front-page news, and that is not an accident.
3. Trump Is Sending More Troops to Iran While Claiming the War Is Nearly Won
Even as Trump hinted publicly at a second round of talks with Iran, the Pentagon confirmed the blockade of Iranian ports is in full effect — and Trump is sending thousands of additional troops to the region, including forces capable of ground operations (The New Republic). Tehran threatened to strike targets across the region in retaliation (AP Politics). Hegseth, meanwhile, is already plotting the next military operation (The Daily Beast). Democrats filed articles of impeachment against him this week, accusing him of violating the Constitution by conducting strikes without congressional authorization (The New Republic). For the fourth time, Senate Republicans voted to let Trump keep doing whatever he wants (AP Politics). Big oil is now making an extra $30 million per hour off the war (The Guardian US).
4. The AI Jesus Saga Is Still Getting Worse
Fresh off the first AI Jesus scandal, Trump posted a second AI image conflating himself with Christ (The New Republic). His border czar Tom Homan declared Pope Leo XIV's criticism of Trump "unacceptable" and promised to "educate" the Catholic Church on immigration (Huffington Post News). The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops directly condemned JD Vance's "just war" theology (The New Republic). As one Guardian analyst noted, this is a political disaster in the making for Vance specifically — Catholic swing voters are one of the largest and most electorally significant demographics in the country (The Guardian US). Mike Johnson, asked to condemn the Jesus post, refused — and political scientists say the refusal itself is revealing (Huffington Post News).
5. Democrats Raise Record Midterm Cash as Cracks Appear in the MAGA Coalition
Democrats raised more than half a billion dollars in small-dollar donations in a midterm warning shot (The Daily Beast). Six House Republicans broke ranks to help Democrats force a vote on Haitian temporary protected status (The New Republic). Trump helped Sen. Mike Lee push a wildly unpopular public land sell-off — then threw him under the bus when the backlash hit (The New Republic). CNN's data team is already flagging what they're calling a "nightmare" political environment for Republicans heading into the midterms (The Daily Beast). JD Vance's appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia drew a mostly empty arena — a visual that went viral immediately (Huffington Post News).
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THINGS TO WATCH
The "Trump is a loser" narrative is taking hold — even on the right. Vance's empty arena, the failed Pakistan talks, the Iran war dragging on, Fox accidentally fact-checking the president, a Trump-voting podcaster torching the DoorDash stunt — the MAGA credibility infrastructure is visibly fraying. This isn't just a liberal media frame anymore; it's bleeding into the base.
Tax resistance as political act. Americans are deliberately not paying federal taxes as a form of Trump protest (Huffington Post News), while Patriotic Millionaires marched on Capitol Hill demanding higher taxes on themselves (Common Dreams). The class-consciousness frame is sharpening: working people pay up while billionaires get cuts and wars.
The public health infrastructure is being dismantled quietly. Vaccine guidance is collapsing under Trump (The Guardian US), the FDA is moving to ease restrictions on unproven RFK Jr.-favored peptides (AP Politics), and Dr. Oz is telling podcasts that Trump believes Diet Coke kills cancer (The Guardian US). These aren't isolated stunts — they're a systematic withdrawal of the federal government from public health.
The Supreme Court is cracking in public. Jackson versus the conservative majority, Sotomayor versus Kavanaugh, Trump now floating that justices are too old and hinting at reshaping the court (The Daily Beast) — this is the most visible institutional dysfunction at SCOTUS in decades.
👀 KEPT OUT OF YOUR FEED
What the algorithm buried:
Sick of funding fascism? Here's what happens when you just stop paying federal taxes.
Jimmy Kimmel just said what no late night host has dared to say about Trump's pardon spree — and it is absolutely vicious.
Democrats just raised half a billion dollars in small-dollar donations — and midterms are still 18 months away.
Dr. Oz just told the world that Trump believes diet soda kills cancer cells — and actual physicians had to issue a public reminder that it does not.
Trump couldn't remember a senator's name — or that he was a senator — in his latest rambling meltdown.
JD Vance flew to Georgia for a Turning Point USA rally and almost nobody showed up.
Fox accidentally fact-checked Trump live on air — and the graphic right next to his face told the real story.
The Pentagon is secretly planning military operations in Cuba — and the order came straight from the White House.
Jimmy Kimmel has some words for comedians who've decided fascism is a brand opportunity — and "especially sad" is the nicest thing he said.
A jury just ruled Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly — and the DOJ quietly cut a deal with them anyway.
A new lawsuit says Trump has been firing Black officials at a higher rate than anyone else in the federal government.
Republicans promised you'd feel those tax cuts by now — Tax Day is here and voters are shrugging.
NOTICE POLLING
Yesterday, we asked, Do you support Jamie Raskin's bill to investigate Trump's mental fitness and possibly remove him under the 25th Amendment?
OVER 99% OF YOU SAID YES (THERE WAS JUST ONE HOLDOUT…)
“The guy is bonkers, unfit, unhinged, stark raving mad, looney as a rabid squirrel, out of his mind, nasty and belligerent, off his rocker, nervous as a whore in church, his elevator doesn’t go to the top floor, he is spewing mindless gibberish, his face is caked in orange clown makeup, his hair is a rats nest horrific combover with cheap hair spray, his cankers are swollen like basketballs, and his Diet Coke addiction has rotted the few teeth he has left. 🤡”
- debroth
“Dementia Donny and Mad Melania need to be run out of OUR Country!”
- lizabettx2“It's obvious that when people age, their mental abilities start to lag. His mental statis is quickly fading.”
- annaflorin99
“It’s clearly evident the President is becoming more and more unhinged. I am scared to death to know he has his fingers on the nuclear code. I think he doesn’t care, even about his own family, if it means he will be exposed for what he is.”
- ninagburton
“Better late than never. Hope there are enough spines in congress to support it.”
- callajr.jc
“Trump’s words, posts, and comments certainly show he’s having severe mental issues. Destroying the East wing planning a ballroom and arch are a few of his historic crimes. Wars without approval ect ect. Making his self and family Rich while denying any thing that helps citizens.”
- starkat1937
“He stole the election and is a criminal pedophile who is raping and pillaging the government for generational wealth. Everything he does is illegal and against the law !!” — Editor’s note: AMEN!
- jomapo51
Until next time,
