Fallen Idol

Orbán Falls, Blockading the Blockade

Viktor Orbán attacked and controlled the media. He diminished academia and universities. He acted as a thorn in Europe’s side and a puppet for Putin. He spread falsehoods, attempted to rig elections, limited support to Ukraine, undermined democratic institutions, basked in corruption, weakened checks and balances, described migrants as poison, erected barriers to bar asylum seekers, removed LGBTQ rights, and enriched his friends while ruining the broader economy. Is it any wonder that he was idolized and emulated by the MAGA movement? Yes, it’s a shame that a US administration sent our vice president to campaign for Orbán while our president dangled economic incentives to Hungarians if they kept his fellow autocrat in power. But it’s also a joyful relief that Hungarians said no to all of it, producing a landslide election that will reverberate throughout Europe, and possibly all the way to Mar-a-Lago. “The prime minister’s loss is a crushing defeat for Donald Trump and his vice president, J. D. Vance, who modeled their agenda in part on Orbán’s governance and staffed their movement with activists trained at his think tanks. As Trump alienated traditional U.S. partners, Washington looked to the like-minded leader in Budapest to represent its interests inside the European Union. The bond was so meaningful to Vance personally that he traveled to Budapest last week to campaign alongside Orbán as if they were running mates.” Isaac Stanley-Becker in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Hungary Just Ousted the Unoustable. (It’s worth noting that Orbán accepted the election results, conceded defeat, and appears to be leaving office without violence. Maybe his American admirers should think about emulating that behavior as well.)

+ “Orbán’s loss brings to an end the assumption of inevitability that has pervaded the MAGA movement, as well as the belief—also present in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric—that illiberal parties are somehow destined not just to win but to hold power forever, because they have the support of the “real” people. As it turns out, history doesn’t work like that. “Real” people grow tired of their rulers. Old ideas become stale. Younger people question orthodoxy. Illiberalism leads to corruption. And if Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.” Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable.

+ Meet Peter Magyar, the Man Who Ended Trump Ally Viktor Orbán’s 16-Year Rule.

+ The Orbán outcome marks another in a string of bad outcomes for JD Vance. As Ron Filipkowski notes: “He campaigns for AfD in Germany – they lose. Invited the Pope to come to U.S. for Trump’s big event – Pope refuses. Leads peace negotiations with Iran – fails miserably. Campaigns in Hungary for Orbán – who gets smoked.” (Now if only I could convince JD Vance to root for the Dodgers.)

2

Blockade and Abet

“Speaking at the White House, the US president says Iran wants a deal ‘very badly’ and he was called this morning ‘by the appropriate people’ seeking an agreement.” Meanwhile, the US has imposed its own naval blockade on maritime traffic near the Strait. (Maybe a blockade times a blockade equals a positive.) So far, allies have rejected Trump’s call to join the blockade effort. Here’s the latest on the ceasefire and the ongoing negotiations from The Guardian, BBC, and the NYT.

+ Fareed Zakaria with an excellent overview of how Trump’s suggestion that the US can profit from Hormuz tolls flies in the face of our core values. “These are revealing remarks, not because they are outrageous. Trump has said many outrageous things, but because they distill a worldview. They suggest a shift in how the United States might see its role not as the guarantor of a system, but as the participant in a deal.”

+ While U.S. negotiators shattered peace talks with Iran, Donald Trump was at a UFC event in Miami, fawning over the body of a Brazilian mixed martial artist. (The only war Trump won was the one on parody.)

3

The Dope and the Pope

“Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself to Truth Social on Sunday depicting him as a Jesus Christ-like figure, with divine light emanating from his hands as he heals a stricken man in a hospital bed with a demon from hell floating in the background.” It proved to be a troll too far, even for Trump supporters, and he removed the post. While he deleted the post, he didn’t take back ridiculous attacks on the Pope about being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” and having only been elected because of him. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” The Pope was undeterred: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. That’s what I believe in. I am called to do what the church is called to do.” (You think Trump’s comments are gonna bum out the Pope? The guy is a friggin White Sox fan.)

+ NYT (Gift Article): Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate. (What’s the debate; whether he qualifies for a chapter in the DSM or deserves to be on the cover?)

4

Container Class

“Here are some things that have been found in donation bins: A live puppy. Live Japanese grenades. An 1854 tombstone for Rebecca Jane Nye. Old skulls. A stolen Frederic Remington sculpture. Customized Air Jordans made for Spike Lee. Three pounds of marijuana. Five pounds of marijuana. A five-hundred-pound US Navy practice bomb. A mas­todon tooth. An inert mortar shell. A live mortar shell. A Rolex worth three thousand dollars. A World War I machine gun. The first stamp issued in the US. More than five thousand used blood vials. A Bible signed by the 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates. People.” Paul Collins on a problem you almost certainly didn’t know about. Donation containers that are killing people. The Believer: The Death of a Superman.

5

Extra, Extra

Moon Shine: Artemis II’s moon-traveling astronauts return home to cheers after a record-breaking trip. “Hansen said the four of them embodied love ‘and extracting joy out of that’ as the four joined together to stand in a row, embracing one another. ‘When you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you.’” (We had to go to the far side of the moon to get a reminder of the decency, diversity, and joyful endeavors of humans here on Earth.)

+ The Fall of Swalwell: “Multiple House Democrats have called for the resignation of California Representative Eric Swalwell following serious sexual assault allegations against him. Swalwell dropped out of the California gubernatorial election Sunday, but remains in the House.” (The stories came out. The end was swift. It sure didn’t seem like many insiders were surprised to learn of Swalwell’s behavior.)

+ Car-cass: “What happened? How did a basic necessity of American life become a luxury good? We have to start with a transformation of the economy itself beginning in the late 1970s ... Today, there are so many wealthy people who can afford luxury cars that it simply isn’t that profitable for companies to produce cars for the bottom 40 percent of Americans by income.” NYT (Gift Article): The Death of the Basic American Car.

+ Do Not Merge: “Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart and 1,000-Plus Hollywood Names Oppose Paramount-Warner Deal in Open Letter: Block the Merger.”

+ Jacket Racket: “Even after a heart-pounding moment on 18, when McIlroy drove his tee shot deep into the woods on the right, there was still no catching him, not even from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who trailed McIlroy by a dozen strokes entering the weekend only to finish one shot back.” Rory McIlroy collects second straight green jacket at the Masters. And from The Ringer: Rory McIlroy Does It the Hard Way (Again).

+ Making a More Human Zuck? “Meta creating AI version of Mark Zuckerberg so staff can talk to the boss.”

+ Swan Song? “A study found that traffic fatalities increased in the United States by nearly 15 percent on the same days as the biggest album releases.” Is a Big Album Dropping? You Might Want to Watch the Road.

6

Bottom of the News

“Ms. Peiker said she often comes across women who are alone on mountain paths because their partners are hiking ahead. So she wasn’t surprised when, during the past weeks, women on Reddit, Instagram and TikTok began sharing stories of being left behind by their partners while hiking, biking and climbing in nature, calling it ‘Alpine divorce.’” NYT (Gift Article): If He Leaves You on a Mountain, End Your Relationship.

+ Ichiro Suzuki honorary statue unveiled by Mariners, but with broken bat.