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THE BIG PICTURE
Trump is now at war with the Pope, his own allies, and basic reality all at once — and the cracks are widening fast. The DOJ just tried to wipe out the January 6th seditious conspiracy convictions, NATO allies are drafting contingency plans in case Trump fully melts down, and the Iran blockade is already rattling the global economy.
Meanwhile, both Eric Swalwell and a Texas Republican resigned from Congress on the same day, the 25th Amendment is back on the table with 50 House co-sponsors, and JD Vance accidentally admitted on live television that his boss is committing "economic terrorism."
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
1. The Pope vs. Trump Is a Real Political Fight With Real Stakes
Pope Leo XIV issued a formal warning on the fragility of democracy following Trump's public attacks on him (The New Republic). Trump erupted. Republicans scrambled: Lindsey Graham called the Pope "dumb" on live television (The New Republic); Ted Cruz refused to say whose side he was on (The New Republic); JD Vance told Leo to "stick to matters of morality" (The Guardian US). Religion scholars say Trump is badly miscalculating — the Pope's moral authority with Catholic voters, particularly in swing states, is not something you can bully away (The New Republic). Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded Trump apologize (Huffington Post News). His own former campaign adviser said the Jesus post staffer "should be fired" (Huffington Post News). Even Joe Rogan mocked him (The Daily Beast). The base is not uniformly defending this one.
2. The DOJ Just Tried to Erase January 6
This is as close to a formal declaration of impunity as we've seen. The Justice Department has filed with a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders (Huffington Post News) — the most serious charges to come out of the January 6th Capitol assault. Let that sink in: the government that prosecuted the insurrection is now trying to undo those prosecutions. This isn't a technicality. It's a signal to every MAGA street soldier that the administration has their back, retroactively. A federal appeals court has also separately ordered Judge Boasberg to stand down from his contempt investigation into Trump's illegal deportation flights (AP Politics), with two Trump-appointed judges blocking that inquiry (The New Republic). The pattern is unmistakable: the judiciary is being dismantled from the inside.
3. Iran Blockade Is Breaking the Global Economy
The IMF issued a formal warning Tuesday: the Iran war is now threatening a global recession (AP Politics). The UK faces the sharpest growth downgrade in the G7 . U.S. wholesale prices surged at the producer level last month, driven almost entirely by energy costs from the blockade (AP Politics). And yet: tankers were still passing through the Strait of Hormuz on the first day of the blockade (Huffington Post News), suggesting the military posture is more theater than airtight. Trump went on Fox and hyped what he called an "unbelievable war victory" (The Daily Beast). The White House says talks may resume this week (Huffington Post News). Senator Roger Marshall went on television to tell Americans to stop worrying about gas prices because the war is worth it (The New Republic). JD Vance went on Fox News and accidentally used the phrase "economic terrorism" to describe the blockade strategy — then had to spend the rest of the interview walking it back (The New Republic).
4. NATO Allies Are Planning for a Trump Collapse
Since our last briefing, new reporting confirms that key NATO allies are no longer treating a catastrophic Trump breakdown as a hypothetical (The Daily Beast). They're actively planning around it. Separately, French President Macron outlined a post-war framework deliberately designed to exclude the Trump administration, centered on "non-belligerent countries ready to contribute" (The Daily Beast). And in a genuinely stunning break, Trump turned on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — the only European leader who attended his 2024 inauguration — after she scorned both him and Israel (The New Republic). He is now diplomatically isolated in a way that would have been unthinkable even six months ago.
5. The 25th Amendment Push Is Real — and Getting Organized
Fifty House Democrats have formally co-sponsored Jamie Raskin's bill to establish a 25th Amendment commission to investigate Trump's mental fitness (The Daily Beast), citing his "erratic" behavior including the AI Jesus post, his threats to "annihilate" Iran, and his attacks on the Pope (The Guardian US). This has no path to passage with the current House makeup — but that's not entirely the point. The bill forces Republicans to go on record. Watch how many refuse to say "yes, the president is mentally fit" when directly asked.
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THINGS TO WATCH
The authoritarian coalition is fragmenting internationally. Orbán is out in Hungary (covered previously). Now Meloni is breaking with Trump. CPAC was secretly being bankrolled by Orbán's government (The New Republic) — and Hungary's new government is cutting those funds and calling it a crime. The global MAGA network is losing its nodes.
"Religion in government" is accelerating as a quiet internal crisis. A new report finds federal employees are increasingly unsettled by the administration's overt religiosity in the workplace (The New Republic) — mandatory prayer, Christian nationalist imagery, ideological litmus tests dressed as spiritual guidance. This is the soft theocracy story that hasn't broken into mainstream coverage yet.
Trump is turning on his own. In the span of days he's attacked the Pope, Meloni, and Riley Gaines — the anti-trans activist he previously praised as a leader . The loyalty-only-flows-one-direction dynamic is becoming impossible to ignore even for core MAGA figures.
U.S. military boat strikes in the eastern Pacific are a pattern that isn't getting enough attention. The military has now killed 174 people in strikes on vessels in the region since September, with a third deadly attack in four days (The Guardian US). No evidence has been provided publicly. No major outlet is treating this as a running accountability story.
The National Popular Vote compact is gaining real momentum. Virginia signed the bill into law (The Guardian US), moving the coalition closer to the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to take effect. This is one of the few structural democracy-reform stories actually advancing right now.
👀 KEPT OUT OF YOUR FEED
What the algorithm buried:
Jimmy Kimmel spotted something about Trump's Jesus post that everyone else missed — and it's very on brand.
Jon Stewart has had it — and his question about the Jesus photo cuts right to the bone.
Colbert spent four minutes absolutely demolishing Trump's Jesus post excuse — and it gets more unhinged with every second.
Eric Trump is doing exactly what Republicans impeached Hunter Biden for doing — tagging along on official state visits to mix family business with daddy's power.
Ohio nursing homes are dumping patients at homeless shelters — one woman showed up incontinent, on a walker, carrying "a large bag of medications," and shelter staff had to call the fire department.
A toddler nearly died in ICE custody — and then they sent her back in.
St. Louis police said a teen pointed a gun at officers — the bodycam shows he was shot in the back of the head while running away.
Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum is doing what most world leaders won't — standing up to Trump while everyone else folds.
Don Jr.'s MMA company is quietly lobbying for military contracts — while his brother does the same thing Republicans impeached Hunter Biden over.
Colbert couldn't stop laughing at Trump's DoorDash grandma stunt gone completely sideways
The government is spending billions on AI data centers, and nobody can answer what they're actually for — bombs, porn, and school shooter manifestos aren't exactly the pitch they're leading with.
Dr. Oz just accidentally roasted his own boss — and Trump's Diet Coke habit is even worse than you thought.
NOTICE POLLING
Yesterday, we asked, Will the AI Jesus post actually cost Trump Catholic voters?
OVER 90% OF YOU SAID YES:
“This is grotesque and rude. Trump has crossed one line too many.”
- susiemossrose709
“Thinking of himself as a jesus figure will certainly damage him, but I think calling the pope all the names he has and saying bad things about the pope will hurt him with christians everywhere far more.”
- twoasps“He does not show any principles the catholic people approve of.”
- fsnkp
“Catholics do not see Trump as a Jesus figure! I see this as totally disgusting!”
- smlund2
“The is very little evidence that self-identified Republican voters are abandoning Trump. He still has 90+% approval from them. Independent voters are trending away from him already”
- jarnagin.taylor
“Any Christian, I repeat, Any Christian cannot in good faith support someone who thinks he is Christ. Hopefully this is the red line and congress will have to act to save their skin. ”
- callajr.jc
“Just another sign of his raging insanity.”
- mpomeroy351
Until next time,
