The Focus Group, 04/18/26

Source: The Bulwark

“Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV are probably the two most prominent Americans in the world right now, and they’re fighting. So we asked American Catholics (including those who voted for Trump) what they thought of their feud, and about Trump’s Truth Social Post depicting himself as Jesus. JVL returns to the show with some choice words for some of his fellow Catholics, and discusses the role the Catholic Church has played in American politics more broadly.” (04/18/26)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k4VOBfdCso

The Scapegoat Scam

Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer

“The Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán, who lost his election in a landslide on Sunday after 16 years in power, presented himself as a defender of Western civilization. But at best, his lofty rhetoric was a code for bigotry and a justification for the persecution of minorities; at worst, it was a scam to fleece Hungarians by persuading them to blame everyone but those responsible for their problems. Maybe both. Eventually Hungarians decided that a major source of their problems was Orbán himself.” (04/17/26)

https://archive.is/Gthb8