A war briefing is not a pulpit. The Pentagon is not a church. And Pete Hegseth is not a minister of anything except the art of humiliation — his own, the military’s, and now, apparently, the Lord’s. On Thursday, at what was supposed to be an update on the ongoing U.S. military campaign against Iran, […]
The Meek Shall Not Inherit the Earth, Apparently
The Pope told the world to choose peace.Donald Trump called him weak.This is where we are. Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, stood in St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered a prayer vigil against war. He denounced what he called a “delusion of omnipotence.” He called on […]
JD Vance wants to be taken seriously on the world stage. The world has other ideas. In the span of roughly one year, the Vice President of the United States has managed to antagonize a dying pope, fly to Europe to campaign for a strongman trailing by double digits, and spend twenty-one consecutive hours negotiating […]
Let me begin with a confession that should not have to be made: I am relieved. Not proud. Not impressed. Not moved to any celebration. But I am relieved that a two-week pause exists where there was none — that the word “ceasefire,” however fragile, however dishonored by the men who negotiated it, has replaced […]
At 8:03 a.m. on Easter Sunday, the President of the United States posted a war threat on social media. He named a target. He named a day. He dropped profanity. He invoked Allah. He signed his name in all caps. This is the man with the nuclear codes. Donald Trump woke up this morning, while […]
It is Easter weekend in America. The churches are full. The story is told again, as it has been told for two thousand years, of a crowd given a choice. Pilate asked them. He stood before the assembled people and offered them what custom demanded: one man freed, one man condemned. He presented two: a […]
On September 5, 2024, a voter at the Economic Club of New York asked Donald Trump what he planned to do about the cost of child care. He called it a “very important issue.” He said, specifically of daycare, “In this country, you have to have it.” Of course, he was running for president then. […]
There is a temptation, in times of war and outrage, to flatten the world into two categories: those who condemn evil and those who enable it. It is a tempting simplicity. It is also a lie. Let us be precise about Iran. Not careful. Precise. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic dictatorship. It […]
He started a war nobody asked for, and now he’s angry that nobody wants to finish it for him. Let that sink in. Roll it around. Hold it up to the light. A man who spent years telling NATO it was worthless, who stood before cameras and informed the alliance that American troops had carried […]
The president of the United States stood in the Oval Office this week and announced that a person who admits to having a learning disability is, by that admission, dumb. He said it four times in less than a week. He said it at rallies. He said it on social media. He said it to […]