Digby's Hullabaloo Posts

Courage is contagious

“The American people are unhappy with Trump. They do not like this war. But they need a dose of truth right now,” Alan Elrod wrote last week at Liberal Currents:

The truth is that the American people twice elected Donald Trump over more qualified Democratic women. The first time, Hillary Clinton warned explicitly that he did not have the temperament to be trusted with the nuclear codes. The second time, they overlooked an insurrection, a deadly pandemic, and a campaign full of bellicose and racist rhetoric, all despite the American economy being in the midst of one of the best post-covid recoveries in the world. 

In our representative democracy, the people speak to the president, and the president speaks to the people, but, crucially, the president also speaks for the people. That idea is at the heart of the whole enterprise. We cannot pretend that Trump’s monstrous words this week don’t reflect on us. We cannot pretend that we are well as a nation. No morally healthy country would put this man in power twice—the second time after he so clearly showed us and the world who he truly is. 

Elrod looks back at President Carter’s “malaise” speech, panned at the time, that called out America in the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate as suffering “a crisis of confidence.”

Carter said (and Elrod quotes):

Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past.

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.

It was as much sermon as political speech. And prophetic, if not simply ahead of its time.

Trump, the Seven Deadly Sins on two legs, personifies self-indulgence. He models it, recommends it. He offers followers “an easy out” from the personal responsibility Republicans once extolled, even if mainly as a racial dog whistle. Trump is a papal indulgence who hates the pope.

Elrod reflects on what Trump’s elections say about us as a nation, as reflections on our national character that clearly troubled Carter. He speaks this morning to Greg Sargent on The Daily Blast podcast:

And what I mean by that in the essay is that if we don’t take seriously some of these more underlying problems—that we are a deeply isolated and lonely and distrustful country that is focused on material wellbeing and status and is more dislocated and civically apathetic than maybe we’ve ever been—that we’re going to get more Trumps, because that’s just fertile breeding ground for people like him.

And so it’s not so much that I think there’s just 50-something percent of the country that is committed to Trumpism. But I do think there’s just a huge amount of the country that is not doing well—and I mean that in an emotional way, I mean that in a political way, civically. And so I think those conditions, so long as they persist, continue to make us vulnerable to more cycles in the future of this kind of politics.

Is there a way out? Elrod tells Sargent:

Elrod: You know what? I think organizing and winning the elections are great. I think doing things in your community is more important. This is a generational fight. And beating Trump and beating MAGA at the polls is great. But if you don’t get out there and know your neighbors, if you don’t get out there and try to fix the social capital problem we have—a book club, start a movie night club, do something like that—if you don’t do those things and engage in those kinds of face-to-face interactions that really revive civic life around you, where you are, then I don’t think that this is a problem that we’re going to get out of anytime soon. That’s my hopeful message, actually, because I am hopeful about it. But winning an election is actually the short-term fix. Doing this stuff is the long-term.

Simple, visible actions matter.

Magyar is in. Swalwell is out.

Regarding MAGA darling Viktor Orbán’s stunning defeat in Hungarian elections on Sunday, a couple of observations about Péter Magyar’s landslide victory before mine.

Bottom line, writes Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic, “if Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.” Carry that with you everywhere like a key ring fob.

Applebaum details many of Orbán’s structural advantages that Magyar’s Tisza Party had to overcome, including an “extraordinary web of international illiberal and far-right supporters” and Orbán’s control of the media.

After 16 years of what Orbán himself described as an illiberal regime, the Hungarian leader’s political party, Fidesz, had come to control much of the judiciary, bureaucracy, and universities, as well as a group of oligarchic companies that in turn controlled a good chunk of the economy.

Michelle Goldberg adds:

The geopolitical consequences of Magyar’s victory could be profound. Under Orban, Hungary has vetoed aid to Ukraine and sanctions on both Russia and Israel. Magyar’s movement is hostile to Russia; people at his rallies have taken up the chant “Russians, go home,” a slogan from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. “There is a strong narrative of commitment to the European Union and NATO,” said Zsuzsanna Végh, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund. And since Magyar doesn’t have a personal relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she said, “some sanctions against Israel would likely be acceptable” to a Tisza government.

But what Hungarians faced inside their country, Goldberg suggests, “was a choice between the center right and the authoritarian right.” Tisza is not a left-leaning alternative to Orbán’s Fidesz Party. Orbán has all but eliminated the left in Hungary. But Magyar should be less likely “to demonize L.G.B.T.Q. people the way Orban did.” It’s a start.

The incoming Parliament “will be the first since 1989 with no left-wing representation, in part because many progressive candidates stood down to avoid splitting the anti-Orban vote.” What remained of the Hungarian left viewed the contest as a matter of practical, if not Machiavellian politics. Their support for Magyar did not rely on his passing purity tests. The result? Orbán is out.

Which brings me to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) of California.

Amidst allegations of sexual misconduct that collapsed his campaign for governor in California, Swalwell announced on Sunday that he would withdraw from the race:

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” he posted on X. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

Owing to California’s “jungle primary” system (the top two vote-getters advance to the general), Democrats now face a choice ahead of the June 2 primary. Swalwell was leading the polls on the Democratic side. It’s not clear where his supporters go now. If California Democrats cannot coalesce support behind one of the remaining Democrats, they could in theory hand the next governorship to Republicans. Especially if Republicans consolidate their support. It’s not likely, but then neither was Donald Trump in 2016.

Newsweek reports that according to the Kalshi prediction market, Tom Steyer now has a 56 percent chance of becoming governor, up from 51 percent on Sunday. Katie Porter’s odds are now 17 percent, up from 5 on Sunday. Also, “The Democratic Mayor of San Jose, Matt Mahan is close behind Porter. There is a 16 percent chance that he will win the race.”

I know nothing about Kalshi betters or if they even understand how California’s top-two primary works.

Already I’m seeing talk that, despite their progressive credentials, Porter’s staff issues and billionaire Steyer’s being able essentially to buy the governorship are deal breakers for some on the left. Maybe Xavier Becerra can come from behind to edge out one of the Republicans on June 2? Who will Swalwell support? And does anyone want his support at this time?

Whatever. California progressives should be at least as strategic as their counterparts in Hungary. Set aside the purity tests long enough to ensure that two Republicans don’t advance to the November election.

Over at The Bulwark, Tim Miller advises lefties to welcome MAGAs who feel betrayed by Donald Trump into the fold. Take yes for an answer “from various and sundry cranks and kooks not because we agree with their crazy or bigoted ideas but because any successful political coalition will contain some cranks,” Miller observes:

If you feel tempted to dismiss this welcoming approach as arising from an overly earnest, soft-boi impulse, just look at the question from a purely Machiavellian perspective: The more people who bail on Trump the better.

For a political party, what is the good in shunning or mocking these people? If some former Trump voters enter into an uneasy alliance with the Democrats, even temporarily, because they are pissed about the war—great!

Similarly, how about a little Machiavellianism among friends, California? Get it together.

If you have to ask….

Talking Points Memo reports on a souvenir awarded to Minneapolis veterans of operation “Metro Surge.” It’s a challenge coin featuring “portraits of President Donald Trump and a person who appears to be White House Border Czar Tom Homan glaring out from under a skull” with glowing eyes.

A federal employee who wishes to remain anonymous sent the images to TPM:

The White House referred questions about the Metro Surge challenge coin to DHS, which oversees ICE and many of the other key agencies involved in immigration enforcement. A DHS spokesperson provided a statement stressing that Customs and Border Protection has a process for reviewing and approving “branded merchandise,” including challenge coins.

“All external publications, videos, and branded merchandise, including coins and patches, must be reviewed and approved by the CBP Publication and Branding Review Board prior to printing, purchasing, or listing for sale,” the spokesperson said, adding, “This process ensures compliance with DHS branding guidelines and CBP policy. When CBP becomes aware of coins or patches that may not have been properly approved, we look into the matter and take appropriate action.”

The spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow up questions asking if the coin was external material, if it had been approved, or whether they would be reviewing the matter. 

But, of course, they didn’t.

The challenge coin distributed at the Whipple Building seemingly revels in the violence that occurred in conjunction with Operation Metro Surge. On the flip side, the token showcases another helmeted skull with glowing eyes looming over officers in tactical gear carrying a U.S. flag amid an explosion, burning buildings, and a low flying military helicopter. The base of the coin features the text “METRO SURGE URBAN OPERATIONS.”

And, um, here’s the thing about adopting the death’s head, or Totenkopf as your emblem. Claire Barrett, an editor and military history correspondent for Military Times, reviews the history of the Totenkopf. “First introduced in the late 1730s under Frederick the Great,” it was worn by German troops on the Western Front in 1918. But unless you’ve lived your life under a rock or never visited a local gun show, it’s best known for its association with the Nazis.

Barrett writes:

“Among other uses,” writes the Anti-Defamation League, “it became the symbol of the SS-Totenkopfverbande (one of the original three branches of the SS, along with the Algemeine SS and the Waffen SS), whose purpose was to guard the concentration camps. Many original members of this organization were later transferred into and became the core of a Waffen SS division, the 3rd SS ‘Totenkopf’ Panzer Division, which engaged in a number of war crimes during World War II.”

Commonly emblazoned on German military hats and coat collars, SS commander Heinrich Himmler took the dark symbolism even further by gifting elite members of the SS with a specialized SS-Ehrenrings, translated to “death’s head ring.”

The British comedy duo Mitchell and Webb once ran a sketch where an SS officer finally notices the death’s head on their caps and asks, “Are we the baddies?” Why skulls? he asks. They make you think of death, cannibals, beheading, pirates. Okay, pirates are fun, but they’re still the baddies, aren’t they?

Barrett concludes:

Mitchell and Webb managed to point out the ridiculousness of the insignia and those who wore it. So no, you’re not honoring your Prussian heritage by sporting the Totenkopf. You are, in fact, a baddie. A very offensive one.

And if you’re handing out souvenirs of an American government operation that terrorized the civilian population of a major U.S. city, and in which your secret police gunned down two of its citizens? And your souvenir features a Totenkopf? You might be a baddie.

You don’t need to be Jeff Foxworthy to figure that out.

Here’s CNN’s analysis of what they think they are doing which sounds right to me from what I’ve read:

Iran’s decision to close the strait to oil tanker traffic has caused severe economic damage to some countries that rely on Middle Eastern crude, and it has led prices to surge around the world — including the United States. So why would Trump want to blockade the strait that he wants reopened?

The strait isn’t technically closed — Iran has been gradually allowing some tankers through in exchange for a toll of up to $2 million per ship. And, crucially, Iran has been allowing its own oil to pass in and out of the region throughout the war: Iran had managed to export an average of 1.85 million barrels of crude a day through March — about 100,000 barrels a day more than in the previous three months, according to data and analytics firm Kpler.

By closing off the strait, Trump could cut off a key source of financing for Iran’s government and military operations. It’s a lever the administration has been unwilling to pull: Blockade the strait — even to Iranian oil, and the price of oil could surge around the globe. That’s why the US Navy has allowed Iranian tankers to pass through the region. Any oil flowing out of the region right now could help keep oil prices at least somewhat in check.

In fact, the United States in March granted a temporary license for Iran to sell oil that had been sitting afloat on tankers.The United States has sanctioned Iranian oil on and off for decades, and the Trump administration has blocked sales of the country’s crude since it abandoned the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018. Trump’s decision to drop sanctions last month freed up a lot of crude: 140 million barrels worth, which is enough to satisfy the entire world’s oil demand for about one-and-a-half days, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

[…]

Anger about surging gas prices pressured the Trump administration to wrap up its war, and releasing hundreds of millions of barrels perhaps bought it a bit of time. Because Iran was selling its oil anyway, dropping the sanctions opened up the oil sales to Western countries instead of going exclusively to China, Iran’s biggest customer by far.

The administration has tried to find any lever it can pull to keep oil prices in check while it wages its war. It coordinated a historic release of emergency oil reserves around the globe, and the Trump administration desanctioned hundreds of millions of barrels of Russian oil last month, as well. Now, Trump is risking sending oil and gas prices even higher to maximize leverage over Iran to end the war.

The chances of this actually working in any way is almost nil. And if he orders an attack on Chinese or Indian or any other vessels, the war has gone worldwide and we are in deep shit. In other words, Trump’s folly is just getting worse and worse as he desperately tries to find a way out of the mess he’s made.

At the very least, get ready for a price shock like we haven’t seen since the 1970s. Buckle up.

*Just as an aside, I think sending JD over to fail at the talks was probably a savvy move by Marco Rubio who spent last evening with Trump at a UFC fight. Vance leaked to Haberman and Swan about how he opposed the war and I’m fairly sure Trump was made aware of that if he didn’t already know. Vance is currently under the bus being run over.

As a Californian I think I have to weigh in on the Swalwell matter. He’s got to go. If, for some reason, this turns out to be some kind of hoax, which is highly doubtful, he’ll have to fight that as a private citizen. There’s no room for this sort of thing in a Governor’s race or, frankly, in Congress. He’s done.

As for that Governor’s seat, there was already a problem in that there are so many Democrats in the race, one kooky billionaire (Tom Steyer) who has blanketed the airwaves and a couple of Republicans who could land as the top vote getters in our stupid jungle primary cutting out all the Dems. This just adds to the problem.

Katie Porter should be someone we rally around but she has shown dismal political judgement by continuously behaving obstreperously on camera and alienating the people who should be behind her. There are others but the best bet at this point may be Xavier Becerra, former Congressman, Ca. Attorney General and Sec. of Health and Human Services under Biden. He’s a solid liberal, would be the first Hispanic Governor and a good communicator.

There are many to choose from but I think rallying around him may be the best choice. But damn… what a stupid mess.

Anyway:

Very proud to share our new ad. It's launching today as part of a seven-figure statewide media buy.

The Governor’s Office is no place for on-the-job training. California needs an experienced fighter.

I'm ready to fight. Ready to win. pic.twitter.com/mhJ1u2hMpl

— Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) March 24, 2026

Fighting for better health care has been a defining cause of my career.

I've been advocating for single-payer for over three decades. pic.twitter.com/oUjJFvbqLJ

— Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) April 2, 2026

This piece at the UnPopulist by Matt Johnson takes a look at RFK Jr. Reign of Horror at HHS. He starts off noting the absurd naivete (or self-interested cowardice) of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy:

Cassidy and every other Republican who voted for Kennedy had all the information they needed to see that he would be a disaster for public health in the United States, from his decades-long crusade against vaccines to his history of fevered conspiracism. Cassidy acknowledged that he studied Kennedy’s record “exhaustively” and took his decision “very seriously.” According to Cassidy, Kennedy “has been insistent that he just wants good science to ensure safety” and claimed he would “work within the current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems.” Cassidy said Kennedy also promised to “maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes” and that the CDC “will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.”

Kennedy has broken every single one of these promises.

Nobody who had done the slightest investigation of RFK Jrs life would have believed any of that. If a Democrat had nominated this nutcase for that job, I believe that the vast majority of Democrats, including me, would have screamed bloody murder. And he’s a Kennedy and a lifelong Dem. The fact that these Republicans went along with his woo-woo BS is as much of an indictment as anything else they’ve done.

The piece goes into detail and concludes:

Kennedy’s defining obsession has always been what he regards as the immense dangers posed by vaccines. His promises that he just wants “evidence-based science and medicine” are as hollow as the promises he made to Cassidy. It’s no coincidence that the first year of Kennedy’s tenure has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of recommended vaccines and the elimination of mRNA research. Kennedy’s HHS is focusing on what it regards as promising frontiers of research, such as a “comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.” As Kennedy has purged career scientists and civil servants from HHS, he has promoted anti-vaccine ideologues and lackeys to positions of power in the agency. He has already inflicted severe harm on America’s public health, and he’s only been in charge for a year. It’s chilling to imagine what damage three more years will reveal.

But sure, let’s get rid of the vaccines. Because the addled weirdo who helped Donald Trump get elected thinks we should.

He’s even against the flu vaccine:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has disparaged the flu shot or linked it to his voice condition at least two dozen times over the last six years — and as recently as last month. Now, as health secretary, he’s turning that skepticism into policy.

→ My Washington Post colleagues Lauren Weber, Lena H. Sun and Caitlin Gilbert dug into Kennedy’s claims in a new report pulling back the curtain on the administration’s actions on the flu vaccine following one of the worst flu seasons in more than 15 years.

They write about how Kennedy has repeatedly suggested the flu vaccine may have triggered his spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological voice disorder that affects his speech, while also admitting he can’t prove it. My colleagues consulted with medical voice experts — and multiple inserts for flu vaccines — who said there’s no scientific evidence to back up the claims about the type of dystonia he has.

There is evidence to suggest a potential association between dystonias and certain drug use, three otolaryngologists told The Post. Kennedy has also publicly discussed his past addiction to heroin.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about Kennedy linking his vocal problems to vaccines.

What’s changed in the federal approach to flu vaccines:

• Downgraded childhood vaccines: Last month, the federal government reversed course and revised vaccination guidelines to no longer recommend routine flu shots for children and adolescents.

Getting a flu shot has been shown in multiple studies to reduce hospitalization and death, something Kennedy and his department have disagreed upon.

→ Flu vaccines typically reduce the risk of cases requiring medical care by roughly 30 percent to 60 percent in most years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Effectiveness fluctuates based on how well the vaccine matches the circulating viruses. The vast majority of flu deaths occur in children who are unvaccinated.

• Nixed an ad campaign about vaccination: The day after being sworn in as health secretary last February, Kennedy moved to order the CDCto shut down federal advertising campaigns that encouraged people to get flu shots to decrease the severity of the illness.

“The message we got was that the government was getting out of the business of encouraging vaccination, and that has proven true,” Kevin Griffis, CDC’s then-director of communications, told my colleagues at The Post.

• HHS said it wanted another campaign centered around informed consent, which often emphasizes the risks of immunization over its benefits. However, no alternative campaign was ever created.

“CDC data also show flu vaccine effectiveness has averaged about 40 percent since 2009, underscoring the need for honest communication, not slogans,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told The Post in response to questions about the messaging.

Pediatric deaths during this flu season, which typically runs from October until May, have increased about 4 percent over the same period last year, to 71 children. The 2024-25 flu season was the worst in more than a decade, resulting in the deaths of 289 children. Public health advocates, physicians and families impacted by flu death warned that Kennedy’s actions could lead to more deaths.

Meanwhile:

A new study from UTHealth Houston reports that older adults who receive a higher dose of the influenza vaccine may have a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who receive the standard dose.

There’s more in this piece in the Hill on his assault on vaccines. Cassidy knew what Kennedy was about. An he knew it was dangerous. He just didn’t have the guts to say so. In fact all the Senate Republicans did (well, except maybe Tuberville) and they let it go even though Kennedy was a lifelong Democrats, hedonist,former drug addict, everything they supposedly hated. There is simply no excuse for this appointment. They all have the blood of Americans on their hands for this one.

Hungary votes today.

They did this to support that weirdo Mileil in Argentina and think it was the key to his win. So, of course, he’s trying to bribe the Hungarian people too. Judging from last night’s huge rallies, I’d guess few Hungarians are listening to Donald Trump right now.

Massive anti-Orban rally in Debrecen, Hungary, once an Orban stronghold, ahead of tomorrow’s critical election🇭🇺

WOW pic.twitter.com/deSA5c6uae

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 11, 2026

I wrote about this race a few days ago in case you missed it:

Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is a dark, repressive place. But Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think-tank that has given America, among other gifts, Project 2025 — has called it not just the “model for modern statecraft, but the model. Americans, Brits, Spaniards, Australians — everyone — can and should learn from it.”

Those words may sound odd coming from a right-wing American activist, the type who would have previously heaped contempt on anyone who suggested that a country other than the United States is the model the world should follow. But these are different times, and America’s right-wing intelligentsia has had a crush on Orbán for some time now. The question is whether the Hungarian people are as enamored as they are. For the first time in 16 years, Orbán is facing a tough reelection battle. 

Hungarians will go to the polls on April 12, and if the elections are fair and uncorrupted, it appears Orbán and his Hungarian Civil Union Party, known as Fidesz, will lose. Current polling averages show his chief rival, Péter Magyar of the Respect and Freedom Party, more commonly referred to as Tisza, with a healthy 15-point lead that has held for most of the past year. But in Hungary, which has been defined as an “electoral autocracy,” a manipulated electoral map coupled with Orbán’s years of corruption mean there is no guarantee that Magyar can pull off a victory, even with a commanding lead. Still, it’s the best chance in years to unseat the prime minister, as the widespread discontent has caused several other parties with smaller constituencies to step back in an effort to consolidate the anti-government vote behind Magyar and Tisza.

By any objective measure, Orbán is a demonstrable failure as a government leader. His overwhelming corruption, anti-democratic practices and cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin — even as Russia threatens all of Europe with its aggressive war in Ukraine — has made Hungary increasingly isolated from the European Union, with which the country does almost all its business. The E.U. has frozen aid to Hungary for the past several years, and the economy is in bad shape, contracting 0.8% in 2023 and growing by only 0.5% over the two following years. People are feeling the pinch, and they might be finally realizing just what a disaster his tenure has been.

But that doesn’t mean Orbán doesn’t have friends. Virtually every right-wing extremist in the world counts him as an inspiration, starting with his good pal Putin, who supplies almost all of Hungary’s energy needs, and China’s Xi Jinping, who counts Hungary as its closest E.U. ally. Nearly every far-right leader in Europe — France’s Marine LePen, Germany’s Alice Weidel, Spain’s Santiago Abascal, Poland Karol Nawrocki and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders — has made appearances in support of Orbán. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his endorsement, as did the chainsaw-wielding leader Javier Milei of Argentina. 

Donald Trump, who has long looked to Orbán as a role model, has also provided his “complete and total” endorsement, and has dispatched Secretary of State Marco Rubio to offer promises of financial support — the same gambit that many observers think made the difference in Milei’s win a few months ago. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit Hungary and lend his support to Orbán just four to five days before the election.

The Hungarian prime minister is revered by authoritarians everywhere, and because he has been such a path-breaking autocrat demonstrating the new soft fascism, his impending loss seems to be making them nervous. They must be wondering what it could mean for them. After all, Orbán’s anti-democratic policies were intended in part to not only prevent a defeat from happening, but also to keep people from ever wanting it to happen.

For all of his failures at actual governance, Orbán boasts quite a list of autocratic accomplishments. He perverted the rule of law and institutions through constitutional changes and the appointment of cronies to previously nonpartisan positions. He took over private media outlets and obliterated the state media’s independence. He marginalized academia and non-governmental organizations. He ran an intimidating culture war, attacking and ostracizing the LGBTQ community, pushed so-called Christian values and rewrote history. But mostly Orbán has simply been monumentally corrupt, pressuring every sector of the economy for the benefit of his cronies.

Magyar has made the corruption and cronyism of Orbán’s so-called “mafia state” a focal point of his campaign, and most observers point to that decision to explain why he has gained and maintained so much traction in the polls. He has also pledged to rebuild public services with the return of frozen E.U. funds. As a former member of Fidesz, Magyar is a conservative politician in his own right; he left the party over a major scandal that implicated Orbán in a pardon linked to a cover-up of child abuse in a state-run children’s home. But he’s not tainted with the prime minister’s venality, and that’s the key.

Orbán, on the other hand, is simply running a massive smear campaign against Magyar. But the usual fear tactics don’t appear to be working. That failure has left Orbán to try a new strategy, according to the Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, in what “may be the world’s first post-reality campaign.”

Fidesz is spending a fortune using social media, posters, artificial intelligence and even foreign help in convincing people that Ukraine is about to invade Hungary. The notion is ridiculous; as we know, Ukraine is a bit busy at the moment trying to fend off the Russians, who are trying to take over their country. No matter, Applebaum writes, calling on the world to “pay attention, because this may be the future of electoral politics: Multiple politicians from several countries are shoveling propaganda at an electorate in order to build terror of an enemy that doesn’t exist at all.”

The smears are so crude they make Trump’s team look tame by comparison. They include the AI slop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy snorting cocaine and counting money while sitting on a golden toilet, and a fake Magyar saying that Hungarian factories should be turned over to foreigners. Even stranger, a SpongeBob-type character accuses Magyar “wip[ing] up cocaine with me after he accidentally sneezed and it all fell to the floor.” (Cocaine must be a particular bête noire in Hungary.)

All this smacks of desperation, something we’re starting to get a whiff of here in the United States, as Trump and his supporters are pushing mightily to suppress voting rights through the SAVE Act and posting footage of the Iran war combined with violent video game clips. We haven’t yet reached the cocaine-on-the-toilet stage, but I’d guess it’s coming. 

Viktor Orbán may yet be able to hold it together for another term, but the writing is on the wall. A defeat on April 12 would be seen as a loss for all the right-wing tyrants and various despots around the world who have been inspired by his “model state” and strongman tactics. This includes Donald Trump, whose new world order was largely inspired by the Hungarian prime minister. 

“There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader,” the president said on March 8, 2024, as Orbán visited Mar-a-Lago. “He’s fantastic… He’s a non-controversial figure because he says, ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ and that’s the end of it. Right? He’s the boss.”

From undermining America’s democratic institutions and the rule of law to spreading disinformation about and cracking down on immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people and the media, Trump has attempted to emulate Orbán’s success — and he has succeeded to varying degrees. 

Hungary is a cautionary tale for Americans under Trump. Let’s hope that April 12 will prove to be a day of reckoning.

The destruction of the Justice Department is one of the biggest stories of the second Trump administration. But coming as it does amid chaos on the world stage, violence on the streets of America’s cities and a news cycle moving at warp-speed, the department’s demise feels as though it’s happening in slow motion. But if, as the old saying goes, “personnel is policy,” then the policies of this DOJ are about as extreme and corrupt as it gets. 

The ascension of Todd Blanche, who led a purge of the department, to the post of acting attorney general following the firing of his former boss Pam Bondi made it clear that the in-house assault on the rule of law isn’t going away. Blanche may or may not be an ideologue; his history is vague in that regard. But he is fiercely loyal to Donald Trump, and that fidelity will guide his every decision. 

There are others, though, whose own zeal and blind ambition are obvious. Among those is Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and is rumored to be in line for a promotion to one of the department’s top jobs.

Dhillon is a media-savvy operator with deep roots in Republican politics, and her bomb-throwing style, which she frequently highlights on social media, has made her a favorite of MAGA media and Trump’s base.

Unlike Blanche, Dhillon is a media-savvy operator with deep roots in Republican politics, and her bomb-throwing style, which she frequently highlights on social media, has made her a favorite of MAGA media and Trump’s base. While Blanche was toiling in the Justice Department as a prosecutor for many years before he went into private practice and joined Team Trump by serving as the president’s personal lawyer, Dhillon has been a political player since she was in college, when she began making her name as a conservative activist. 

As part of a cadre of future right-wing operatives at Dartmouth during the 1980s, Dhillon served as editor of the Dartmouth Review. In 1988 she published a shocking column called “Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ein Freedmann” about the university’s president James O. Freedman, with a cover featuring a drawing of Freedman as Adolf Hitler. The piece satirically drew a parallel between conservatives on campus and the Holocaust, calling it the “Final Solution of the Conservative Problem” and making other grotesque analogies. Being Jewish, Freedman was justifiably appalled. 

So imagine the surprise of those who knew Dhillon then at seeing her take charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and immediately use her power to attack universities for alleged antisemitism, using the issue to threaten and sue them unless they adhere to conservative demands to change curricula and police speech on campuses. After years of complaining vociferously about being shut out of the conversation at Dartmouth, her demands that colleges curtail free speech is nothing if not gutsy. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, she has not gone after Dartmouth, calling them “one of the good guys” for not fighting the Trump administration’s crusade against universities.) 

Having spent most of her career as a conservative antagonist in the liberal bastion of San Francisco, picking fights with the California power structure, Dhillon is not a shrinking violet. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t dipped her toe into the left-wing pond at times. After 9/11, she worked for the ACLU, representing the Sikh community in a series of discrimination lawsuits. As an immigrant herself — she was born in India and came to the U.S. as a child — this would not be unexpected. But coming from someone who is now pushing the policies of the most xenophobic administration in more than a century, it’s yet another example of her willingness to use whatever tools she finds at her disposal to achieve her ends. 

Dhillon ran for statewide office as a Republican and lost badly, and later became the chair of the San Francisco Republican Party. Intriguingly, she contributed to Kamala Harris’ 2003 campaign for San Francisco district attorney, later explaining that, as a Republican in the liberal city, she was forced to choose between the lesser of two political evils. That, along with her ACLU affiliation and her delivery of a Sikh prayer at the 2016 Republican National Convention, caused her to draw harsh criticism from some conservatives, but it didn’t dampen her ambition. As a right-winger in a blue state, she was just doing what was necessary to advance her career. 

Naming Dhillon to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was a perfect middle finger to the liberal constituencies of the Democratic Party. Charged with protecting the civil rights of all Americans, but especially those protected classes outlined in the Civil Rights Act, she immediately set out to turn federal policies that have been in place for decades inside out. No longer would the department be concerned with violations of civil rights against minorities and women. Today the department is obsessed with supposed discrimination against white males and protecting the police against charges of misconduct.

In perhaps the most famous example of the latter, Dhillon refused to investigate the January death of protester Renee Good, who was killed on camera by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. Weeks later, instead of assigning an experienced civil rights attorney to investigate the killing of Alex Pretti, another Minneapolis protester, she tapped a workplace discrimination attorney. In years past, this would have been practically a pro forma investigation, but Dhillon decided to focus on prosecuting journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Forte for covering an anti-ICE protest in a church, claiming they were participating in the “desecration of a house of worship.” Four civil rights officials at the Justice Department resigned over Dhillon’s decisions in those cases, which came on top of a massive purge in that division, with experienced employees being reassigned to lesser positions and many leaving the federal government altogether. 

The fact that this assault on liberal policies, values and norms is coming from an Indian-American woman and an immigrant makes it all the more delicious to the ascendant far right. And no one is enjoying it more than Dhillon herself. She told POLITICO on Monday that she was not interested in winning a popularity contest — but by that she clearly meant popularity among the mainstream public. 

Dhillon is an accomplished and enthusiastic right-wing provocateur in the tradition of Trump himself, and she has proven herself to be unconcerned about appropriate public behavior or the dignity of her office. She prolifically re-posts material from all the worst right-wing actors and willingly wrestles in the partisan mud. Hardcore activists like Mike Cernovich are big fans and are boosting Dhillon in her media campaign to be named Trump’s attorney general. “Harmeet Dhillon always seemed to me to be the obvious AG,” Cernovich told POLITICO. “If this isn’t locked down, she’s definitely someone most supported by the base.”

My sense is that Blanche will ultimately be Trump’s choice for attorney general and that the Republicans will have no problem confirming him. For one, he doesn’t have the provocative paper trail that Dhillon has. But she is actively being talked up for associate attorney general, one of the DOJ’s top jobs, where she will be in a powerful position to further mold the department in her (and Trump’s) image. 

There is every reason to believe she is on her way up. In the Trump era, activists like Dhillon are transforming the federal government from the inside out, and there is no sign anywhere that the Republican establishment has even the slightest problem with that.

Salon

Hungarians go to the polls

They vote on the weekend in Hungary. That’s one thing Hungary does that MAGAs do not want the U.S. emulating. But one day of voting? Donald Trump is all about that. And today’s the day. After 16 years of strong man leadership, Hungarians could give MAGA darling Viktor Orbán the boot. It could get messy for the close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Trump.

The Guardian:

During the campaign, Orbán – the EU’s longest-serving leader – has trailed in the polls as he faces an unprecedented challenge from Péter Magyar, a former elite member of Orbán’s Fidesz party.

The challenge to Orbán’s power has sent rightwing leaders from around the globe scrambling to rally behind him. This week, JD Vance turned up in Budapest for a two-day visit, the US vice-president telling reporters that his aim was to help Orbán win.

Voting is brisk.

By midday on Sunday, turnout had climbed to a record 37.98%, according to the country’s national election office, meaning about 876,000 more voters had cast their ballots compared with the 2022 elections.

The two leading candidates voted at separate polling stations in Budapest early on Sunday, with Magyar, 45, telling reporters that Hungarians were writing history as they chose between “east or west, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life”.

Meanwhile Budapest is absolutely glowing tonight! 🇭🇺

Massive crowds turned out for Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party opposition rally — a sea of torches and lights lighting up the night against Orbán and Russia.

Elections are tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/3rE0TMVb0m

— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) April 11, 2026

The CBC reports:

Opinion polls have shown Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing Péter Magyar’s upstart centre-right opposition Tisza party by seven to nine percentage points, with Tisza at around 38-41 per cent.

Voting ​in the election for the 199-seat parliament started at 6 a.m. local time and is ​due to close at 7 p.m.

The CBC adds that “an Orbán defeat could mean the unblocking of a 90-billion-euro European Union loan vital for Kyiv’s war effort. It would also deprive Russia of its closest ally in the EU.”

Hope springs eternal.

Tens of thousands chant “Russians, go home!” at tonight’s anti-Orbán concert in Budapest’s Heroes’ Square ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian election. pic.twitter.com/q0DaPVRxJf

— Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) April 10, 2026

Politico reports that Orbán’s supporters are “gearing up for a confrontation” once vote-counting begins:

As Hungarians continue to vote, Orbán supporters are already preparing for a confrontation once the results come in after voting stations close at 7 p.m. Both camps are exchanging accusations of electoral fraud, with experts warning the outcome could be challenged in court no matter who wins.

Hundreds of international observers have descended on Budapest, while Orbán’s camp has set up its own monitoring groups. A dozen EU lawmakers from the right-wing Patriots for Europe group are registered as observers, alongside 100 observers tied to Orbán-aligned groups — setting the stage for what experts warn will be a clash of narratives with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which the Hungarian government has dismissed as politicized.

Experts expect court challenges to the results.

The Washington Post:

Magyar has rapidly risen to become Orbán’s most serious challenger. The 45-year-old leader of the center-right Tisza party, which is leading in independent polls, campaigned on issues affecting ordinary voters including Hungary’s faltering public health care and transportation sectors and what he describes as rampant government corruption.

A former insider within Orbán’s Fidesz, Magyar broke with the party in 2024 and quickly formed Tisza. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly, holding rallies in settlements big and small in a campaign blitz that recently had him visiting up to six towns daily.

Democrats have a fixation on “kitchen table” issues to the exclusion of nearly all else. Magyar is walking and chewing gum at the same time, taking on issues like public health and transportion while also campaigning against the corruption of the Orbán regime, a clear example of failure. A Magyar win could stiffen Democrats’ resolve for campaigning against Trump’s corruption in addition to economic concerns. They might promise to hold members of his inner circle and their hangers-on accounatble both for self-dealing and for crimes against the Constitution and Americans’ civil liberties.

There is no chance of turning around this country’s slide unless Democrats gain the power to do some truth and reconciliation. And exercise it for the first time since Watergate.

Boom goes Iowa….

Let’s not count chickens too soon. But for sufferers of Trump fatigue there is good news percolating in places like Iowa where the race for governor is suddenly close (Cook’s):

The battle for Iowa’s governorship is officially a barnburner.

Internal polls from sources in both parties now show Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand with a lead over his expected Republican opponent, Rep. Randy Feenstra. Sand’s enormous cash stockpile — he sits on $13.2 million to Feenstra’s $3.2 million on hand — ensures that he’ll be able to plaster his populist message on the airwaves all the way to Election Day, and national GOP operatives acknowledge they’ll have to spend heavily in Iowa to stay in the hunt. As a competitive general election looms, this race shifts from Lean Republican to Toss Up.

Trump won Iowa by 13 points.

Political Tribune notes:

At the center of that shift is Sand himself. He sits on $13.2 million in cash compared to Republican frontrunner Randy Feenstra’s $3.2 million, has visited all 99 counties, appeared on conservative media, and even collected petition signatures from registered Republicans, running with momentum on his side.

And right now, the momentum is doing most of the work. Trump’s tariffs have hit Iowa’s corn and soybean exports, while outgoing Republican Governor Kim Reynolds carries an approval rating that has been underwater for more than a year, partly tied to a school voucher push that has created budget strain in multiple major districts.

It’s not just Iowa. Trump is 23 points underwater nationally, Elliot Morris observes. His commentary on “cross-pressured” voters attempts to explain why -23 for Trump is only +6 for Democrats. In part because “one-third of the cross-pressured Trump disapprovers are effectively unavailable for Democrats.”

So while it’s encouraging to see prominent MAGAs leaving Trump behind, don’t think that means more votes for Democrats.

Looking ahead, prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket now give Democrats an 87% chance of retaking the House in November, while Polymarket puts their Senate chances at 53%, up sharply from 17% before the Iran war pushed gas prices past $4 a gallon.

Rich Logis, founder of the nonprofit Leaving MAGA, tells Daily Beast that grievances he hears from MAGAs are both ideological and practical:

Trump campaigned on lowering costs, but gas prices now average more than $4 a gallon. A recent poll found that as many as seven in 10 Americans blame Trump’s tariff policies for high prices. His pledge to avoid “endless wars” has collided with military conflict in Iran.

Trump’s tariffs have certainly hit Iowa’s corn and soybean exports hard. And his failed pledge to lower costs is driving up the cost fertilizer for Iowa farmers just as planting season begins and campaign season goes into full swing.

The Trump administration doesn’t believe in political science any more than the regular kind. So launching his one-man war of choice in Iran has been a massive political mistake. That doesn’t mean his 2024 voters will vote Democrat this fall. They may simply stay home. Works for me.

He dropped the big one, all right. Right on his presidency. Let’s see what happens.

No one likes us, I don’t know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try

(h/t BF)