The DSR Network

Donald Trump is furious at Pope Leo. After the Pope sharply criticized the war on Iran, Trump exploded in a wild Truth Social rant, slamming the Pope as “WEAK on crime” and clueless about the Iranian nuclear threat. Trump then posted an image of himself as Jesus, which he took down after MAGA figures lashed out at him. Trump then angrily insisted he had no idea that image was religious, and seethed some more over the Pope’s criticism. In today’s episode, Robert Jones, the president of the Public Religion Research Institute, makes a fascinating point: The Pope’s criticism of his war appears calibrated in a way that could stir concern about his war in local churches at a grassroots level. That’s a hidden problem for Trump, says Jones, author of several books about religion and the American right. He explains why Trump’s spin will make this worse among religious voters, why all this will resonate more deeply with Catholics than with Trump’s Evangelical base, and why Catholics are a point of real vulnerability for him. 

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The ceasefire with Iran and subsequent peace talks have taken a predictably disastrous turn. JD Vance has utterly failed as a negotiator. Trump has returned to his maximalist aggression and threatens to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. It’s clear that America, and the world, are in danger. Joe Cirincione and Jon Wolfsthal join David Rothkopf to take a look at what makes the President’s latest moves so perilous and why a fundamental change in the way we perceive our democracy is needed to right the ship. 
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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the promised blockade of Iran beginning today, Trump’s bizarre beef with Pope Leo, a massive defeat for Viktor Orban, and more. 
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Donald Trump’s Truth Social feed can get awfully revealing. He just unleashed numerous posts that open a new window on the man and his presidency: the transactionalism; the amorality; and the utter, buffoonish incompetence. In one, he attacked his MAGA allies in a way that displayed his utter lack of any principles. In several others, he revealed that he simply has no grasp whatsoever of the situation he faces with Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. All of which raises a question: How do we make sense of the fact that this man is president? We talked to political theorist Alan Elrod, who has a good piece arguing that the election of Trump—twice—should prompt deep introspection about what our country has become. We discuss Elrod’s argument that America needs a dose of hard truths about this man and this moment, dissect Trump’s “personalist” presidency, consider whether civic malaise produced our current national crisis, and discuss how to pull out of it.

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-up for April 10th, we cover Melania’s extremely odd Epstein statements, Vance heading to Islamabad for Iran war negotiations, Trump lashing out at MAGA influencers, and more. 
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