Digby's Hullabaloo Posts

The Art of Walking Away

“If this was victory, I’d hate to see what failure looks like,” writes Susan B. Glasser in The New Yorker. “‘Unconditional surrender’ this was not,” she writes in her Iran war scorecard Glasser begins by quoting the hyperventilations of victory by Secretary of WAR! Pete Hegseth. “Operation Epic Fury, he exulted, ‘achieved every single objective, on plan, on schedule, exactly as laid out from Day One.’”

Hegseth sounds like he closely studied the tape of Sean Spicer berating Press Room reporters for not highlighting the collossal size of his malignant narcissist boss’ smallish first inaugural crowd. Well done, Padawan.

10/10. No notes. pic.twitter.com/YQ3JPNIR02

— Barney Panofsky's Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) April 8, 2026

Glasser is not one for vulgar slang in print, but in her review of Trump’s humiliation in a war he started for reasons the remain unclear, it pops up:

How awful, then, to have to admit what we Americans have seen for a decade now—this is not a new Trump but a very old one. Defeat will not temper his mania. There is no strategic setback so big as to embarrass him. Unchastened by failure, Trump, on Thursday morning, was shit-posting on social media about his plans for the U.S. military’s “next Conquest.”

To Trump, the inability to achieve the goals he himself articulated in a war of his choosing against Iran is just one more screwup. He has, after all, made a lifetime of catastrophic mistakes and still ended up as President—twice. He’ll handle this like all the rest by moving on and getting over it even before the cleanup crews have finished in Tel Aviv and Tehran.

Trump’s capital-V victory is in all the cleanup jobs he’s created. I immediately thought of the little guy who cleans up after Mr. Peabody’s imperial parade. He’d never make Trump’s Mar-a-Lago guest list.

Catherine Rampell writes:

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GETTING RICH off the Trump presidency. Donald Trump himself tops the list, of course, but it also includes his kids and in-laws; other grifting nepo-babies; cabinet members (as well as their staff and children), senior aides; and other well-connected friends, investors, and firms.

You know who isn’t on that list?

You.

Yes, you, dear reader—at least assuming you’re not among the small community of courtiers sucking public funds dry. Instead, in virtually every way imaginable, Trump has made it easier for all those insiders to profit and, in turn, rip you off. If you bet on or invest in anything Trump might influence and you don’t have inside information, you’re a chump.

As the expression goes: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.

Keep up with all our newsletters, articles, podcasts, and livestreams—and decide which ones show up in your inbox:

The recent rash of curiously well-timed trades in prediction markets is one example of how those who have drawn up chairs to Trump’s banquet table appear to be feasting at public expense.

Yep. The corruption is epic. To appropriate a certain phrase, “we’ve never seen anything like it.” And in this case that’s literally true.

But not to worry, the White House has asked politely that their people not to commit crimes:

The White House warned staff against improperly leveraging ​their positions to place bets in ‌futures markets in an email on March 24, a day after President Donald Trump ordered a brief pause in ​some Iran strikes, a White House ​official said on Thursday…

Ethics rules already prohibit executive workers from gambling while on federal property, and there are rules on the books barring the use of government information for private gain. A senior administration official who received the email described the warning as a timely “refresher” given the fact that suspicious monster bets in futures markets are “hot in the news.” 

I feel much better now, don’t you? I’m sure they would never do anything that might be construed as unethical.

I have to say that the “Christian Crusade” stuff is one of the most, if not THE most creepy aspects of this war with Iran. Yes, Trump is insane, but so is this guy:

Hegseth has persisted in framing the war in Iran, which reached a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday after six weeks of fighting, as divinely sanctioned, repeatedly invoking “God’s almighty providence” and expressing surety that God is on the side of the US military. Amid boasts about the US’s superior firepower and theatrical disdain for “stupid rules of engagement”, the defense secretary has promised to give “no quarter” to the “barbaric savages” of the Iranian regime and called on the American people to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ”.

Hegseth’s distinct combination of piety and bloodlust was most prominently on display at the 25 March worship service at the Pentagon, the first since the war in Iran began, when he prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”. The prayer was so shocking that it appears to have provoked a direct rebuke from Pope Leo, who preached on Palm Sunday that God ignores the prayers of those whose “hands are full of blood” from making war.

Hegseth will hardly mind harsh words from the head of the Catholic church, however. The 45-year-old US army veteran and former Fox News host is a member of an obscure, deeply Calvinist wing of evangelical Christianity – John Calvin broke from the Catholic church during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation – that rejects the pope’s authority and is rooted in a belief in predestination.

“They believe that nothing happens that isn’t in God’s will,” said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida, who researches this branch of Reformed Christianity. “They believe that God directs everything that happens.”

Even a bomb falling on an elementary school full of children?

He is a real life Christian crusader. After all:

In 1862, the future King Edward VII of England, then Prince Albert, visited Jerusalem. He recorded in his diary that he had been tattooed there by “a native.” Just 20 years later, his son, who would become King George V, repeated this experience, writing to his mother that he had been tattooed “by the same old man that tattooed Papa, and the same thing too, the five crosses.” This is the Jerusalem cross, also known as the Crusader cross: square (unlike the more usual elongated versions of the Christian symbol), and with a smaller square cross in each of the four quadrants. 

This very same cross has been in the limelight recently, emblazoned — far, far larger than King Edward VII’s version — on Pete Hegseth’s chest.

Hegseth, a Fox News anchor and former member of the National Guard, is Trump’s pick for secretary of defense. It’s by no means his only tattoo. He also has a “Chi-Rho,” the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ and one of the earliest forms of a so-called Christogram (letters formed into a monogram expressing the essence of the religion). Perhaps the most contentious is the Christian expression on his bicep: “Deus Vult,” meaning “God Wills It,” believed to be a Crusader battle cry. Τhere is another cross with a sword, referencing a verse in the Gospel of Matthew reporting the following words of Jesus: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” “Yeshua,” Jesus’ name in Hebrew, can be read across his elbow. 

Cal me crazy, but if someone goes to the trouble of tattooing specific symbols on their chest, maybe it’s a sign that they’re trying to tell us something? Just saying.

The best part is when, after dragging these people through the mud, paragraph after paragraph, he says “but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country.” He literally sounds like a child.

It’s hard to believe it’s even real. Yet, his followers and corrupt apologists all say that he’s a master communicator who does this inane stuff for a higher purpose that we are all too simple-minded to understand. He’s not rapidly descending into dementia, he’s playing 37 dimensional chess. I think they actually believe that.

More bad news for Trump

The March Consumer Price Index jumped. I’m surprised the Trump administration released it:

U.S. inflation surged in March as the energy shock stemming from the war in Iran rippled across the economy.

The Consumer Price Index report showed that inflation jumped to 3.3 percent compared to the same time last year, almost a full percentage point increase from February’s annual pace. Overall prices rose 0.9 percent over the course of March, the highest monthly gain since the peak of the post-pandemic inflation crisis in June 2022.

“Core” inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, increased modestly. This measure of underlying inflation rose to 2.6 percent on a year-over-year basis following a 0.2 percent increase in March.

Purchasers of groceries and gasoline can take heart that the cost of what they’re not buying every week is increasing by only 2.6 percent per year.

The Washington Post:

“Even if the negotiators in Pakistan stick the landing and the ceasefire turns into a durable period of non-conflict, the lagged impact of the oil and energy shock will impact consumers in a variety of ways through the remainder of 2026,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

The New York Times adds:

After more than five weeks of conflict before a cease-fire was called, the economic effects are becoming clearer. Gas prices have topped $4 a gallon on average. Utility bills have climbed and consumers are facing higher costs for groceries and air travel — prices that are unlikely to return to prewar levels anytime soon.

And groceries? I walked down the cookie aisle on Wednesday and found it lined with bright, yellow sale stickers. Family Size bags of cookies priced at under $4 in 2020 and over $6 today were $1 off.

By Grabthar’s hammer … what a savings.

Melania speaks out of turn

Something’s brewing in Trumplandia:

Melania Trump summoned reporters to the White House Thursday afternoon to give a surprise statement about Jeffrey Epstein, saying she had no relationship with him, was not a victim of his and had no knowledge of his crimes.

In remarks that lasted just under six minutes, she said she wanted to clear “my good name.” She addressed rumors about the origin story of how she met her husband, the president of the United States. And she called on Congress to give a hearing to victims of Mr. Epstein’s crimes.

Wait….is she saying this is fake? https://t.co/bkEzTiBj18 pic.twitter.com/sNnFyofeNV

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) April 9, 2026

Shorter Melania: “I know nothing! I see nothing! I hear nothing!”

Nothing is what you should see, says her husband.

Just got off a quick call w President Trump who said he didnt “know anything about” FLOTUS’ statement prior to her on camera appearance, but that he was in a meeting about the war & couldn’t speak further. “She didn’t know him,” he added before hanging up, referring to Epstein.

— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) April 9, 2026

So why this statement, and why now? We suspect something unflattering is about to drop and she’s trying to get ahead of the negative press. The timing of Melania Trump’s call for victim testimony in public hearings sounds more like a warning than victim advocacy. Victim Marina Lacerda thinks it’s a threat to re-traumatize them.

Consider: Donald Trump’s personal law firm, the former Department of Justice, has “in recent weeks” asked its civil rights division to investigate star January 6 hearings witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, over allegations of lying to Congress under oath. The move came ahead of former AG Pam Bondi’s firing, sources tell The New York Times, in an effort “to shore up her shaky standing with the president.”

The possible message to Epstein victims is, implicate Trump in anything and it will come back to bite you. Lawyer up.

About those Epstein victims. A group issued a statement:

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony.

Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.

It added:

It also diverts attention from [former attorney general] Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities.

Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers. Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.

If rumors that the president launched his attacks against Iran to divert public attention from the Epstein saga are true, his wife just torpedoed that effort:

“And why is this happening today? He’s spent the past six weeks trying to bomb this Epstein story out of the headlines. Two days after the cease-fire, she puts it right back on top. She must really hate him. I don’t know how else to explain it.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

BTW, Melania Trump’s approval ratings have cratered.

Watch that space.

You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, “Who is that man?”
You try so hard but you don’t understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?

Viktor may rue the day he sucked up to Trump. (Gift Link:)

Writing on Truth Social in late March, President Trump expressed solidarity with Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister. Looking ahead to Hungary’s parliamentary election this Sunday, Mr. Trump called Mr. Orban “a truly strong and powerful Leader” who “fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People.” In case there was any doubt where his support lay, he concluded: “I AM WITH HIM ALL THE WAY!”

This was no isolated enthusiasm. Despite Hungary’s small size, with a population of under 10 million, many Trumpian figures see its longtime prime minister as a key political ally. In the fall, the administration’s National Security Strategy pledged to help “healthy nations” in Central and Eastern Europe, like Hungary, resist the “civilizational erasure” supposedly threatening the continent. “It’s in our national interest that Hungary be successful,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio summarized in February. For Mr. Trump, it’s simple. Mr. Orban is, he says, a “fantastic guy.”

His embrace may be a kiss of death for the Hungarian leader. Though MAGA supporters see Hungary as a conservative utopia, many Hungarians aren’t so happy for their country to play this role. Worse are the effects of Mr. Trump’s policies, aggravating an economic downturn and threatening the prime minister’s electoral support. In recent years, far-right parties around Europe have cultivated close ties with Mr. Trump; Hungary’s election may be a warning against getting too close. For if Mr. Orban falls, it will be in no small part thanks to his fan in the Whit

Orban won’t be the only one who has regrets.

Of course he deserves it. Will they do it? Doubtful. But they should:

A majority of Americans want Congress to impeach President Donald Trump now, according to a new poll.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters back impeachment compared to 40 percent opposed, according to the survey of 790 voters commissioned by two groups opposing his Iran war and other policies. The finding includes one in seven Republicans supporting removal proceedings.

Party breakdowns showed stark divisions. Democrats backed impeachment 84 percent to 8 percent, with 78 percent strongly favoring removal. Republicans opposed impeachment by 81 percent to 14 percent, with 77 percent of GOP foes strongly opposed. Independents swung toward impeachment with 55 to 34 percent.

The calls are growing:

President Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday did little to stem the growing tide of calls from congressional Democrats for his impeachment or removal via the 25th Amendment.

The Republican support needed for these efforts to succeed is highly unlikely to materialize, but Democrats are desperate to show their voters that they are doing everything they can to get Trump out of office.

• Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) each sent letters to Vice President J.D. Vance and the Cabinet asking to remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
• Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) introduced articles of impeachment against Trump on Tuesday morning, which cite the war in Iran among many other alleged violations.
• Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) also announced plans to file articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his role in the war.

Trump announced Tuesday night that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire just over an hour before his stated deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

• Trump had threatened in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social that if the deadline wasn’t met, “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
• That statement had Democrats and even a handful of Republicans up in arms, but Vance — despite his reputation as an anti-interventionist — backed up the president, saying, “We’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use.”
• A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than 85 House Democrats had called for President Trump to be impeached or removed via the 25th Amendment as of Tuesday evening.

• Among those were members of House Democratic leadership and prominent lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
• The vast majority were progressives, however, with more moderate and swing-district Democrats mostly sticking to calls for an Iran war powers vote.

Several House Democrats made clear their calls for Trump’s removal still stand despite the ceasefire agreement.

• “Just because a President announces he’s agreed to a two week ceasefire moments before he threatened to commit war crimes, does not mean he is suddenly fit to serve,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said in a post on X.
• Said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.): I’m glad there is a reported ceasefire deal with Iran. But … Donald Trump can’t simply threaten war crimes with impunity. Congress needs to get back in session now to stop this war and remove Donald Trump.”

If only 7 Republicans had had the cojones to convict him in the 2nd impeachment over J6, the world would have been spared this nightmare.

Reporter: There is reporting that Pentagon officials brought in Cardinal Christophe Pierre and told him the American military can do whatever they want and the church should get on its side

Vance: I don’t know who Cardinal Christophe Pierre Is pic.twitter.com/78bHiqbrTA

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 8, 2026

There is no one they won’t threaten:

A top Vatican diplomat was summoned to the Pentagon for a “bitter lecture” demanding that the Pope get behind Donald Trump, it has emerged.

Vatican officials briefed on the meeting told The Free Press that one of the Pentagon’s most senior officials summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre to meet in January—then told him that the United States has the military power to do “whatever it wants,” and that Pope Leo, the first American-born pontiff, “better take its side.”

The site writes that “as tensions escalated,” one U.S. official “went so far as to invoke the Avignon Papacy, the period in the 1300s when the French Crown leveraged its military power to dominate the papal authority.”

Pierre was reportedly summoned to the meeting by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, a Catholic who served in the first Trump administration and was nominated by Trump to his current role. Colby is a close ally of Catholic convert JD Vance. Such a meeting between Pentagon officials and the Vatican is believed to be unprecedented.

The Free Press writes that Pentagon brass “picked apart the pontiff’s January speech,” referring to his inaugural State of the World Address. They reportedly took issue with a passage in which Leo challenged Trump’s so-called Donroe Doctrine, saying, “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”

I’m sure Vance will find a way to excuse this insanity despite the fact that he’s even written a new book about his Catholic faith, which is about as authentic as his politics.

Bill Barr in 2023: Trump is “a consummate narcissist, and he constantly engages in reckless conduct. He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country's interests."

*Barr endorsed Trump in 2024pic.twitter.com/Tcfi2rsKmo

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) April 9, 2026

Thank you Megyn Kelly for saying what everyone is thinking! pic.twitter.com/wSSUyxU93y

— Eric Spracklen 🇺🇸 (@EricSpracklen) April 9, 2026

Megyn Kelly on Democrats:

"Trump could drop a nuke and I'd still vote Republican over those people. What they want to do is nuke our own country. The open border, what they're doing to children. They'd do it all if put back into power."pic.twitter.com/Ak3NRFK6qg

— The American Conservative (@amconmag) April 7, 2026

They care more about owning the libs than the survival of the country.